Melting Snowflakes
by ShamanYoshigumi
Summary: Toshirou is sent to Karakura town to control the flow of Espadas and Arrancar. As expected, he is injured by one very vindictive Espada, and recovers in Ichigo's house. They start to realise their feelings for each other. Wordlimitreached. IchiHitsu fic.
1. That little brat

Hey there, first off, I'd like to say I'm very sorry to the readers still waiting on my Shaman King fic. I'm having the most extreme case of writers block, but I'll try to pull through during the next few days. I also watch Bleach, and I thought I'd give a little contribution to the IchiHitsu community, since I'm a fan of that as well. Forgive me.

* * *

"Not _again._"

The spiky white-haired boy stood, arms crossed, as he looked down at a certain busty blonde lady lying on the ground, drenched in sake, accompanied by two other men dressed very scantily to say the least.

"Ooooh, taichouuu! I just had the weirdest dream!" the lady gasped, as she sprung awake very suddenly, startling him.

"I don't want to know." He muttered, exasperated. A vein throbbed on his temple. The other two men were in no physical capacity to say anything, so he resorted to talking to Matsumoto again.

"Just get Shuuhei and Izuru out of here." He turned and left the office, not wanting to witness any more of this tomfoolery.

Damn, he thought. He needed a rest. The captains' meeting that morning was depressing, to say the least. Hollow attacks were becoming increasingly larger in amount, and the Arrancars were multiplying in number day by day. Yamamoto sotaichou had delegated the task of 'keeping an eye' on the Espadas in the Karakura district to him, Hitsugaya, of all people. The last time he'd been there he had been forced into a football game by Kurosaki Ichigo's sister, who had then pestered him about the whereabouts of her beloved nii-chan. She patted his head, for god's sake! Only Hinamori was allowed to do that, and even then, he'd fight tooth and nail to avoid her small hands.

And now he'd returned to his division headquarters to find… this. Three very intoxicated people, one of them his lieutenant herself, renowned for her drinking habits, sprawled on the normally clean wooden floor. In the morning as well. He could not, in all his years being captain, figure out what was so appealing about stumbling around with a buzzing in one's head, making a mockery of the Japanese language, and behaving as if running round Seireitei absolutely naked was an absolutely normal thing to do. Not to mention the splitting hangover that usually accompanied a night of heavy drinking.

A vein pulsed in his forehead as he tried to stay his temper. Things were not going his way. Definitely not. It was summer as well, to top it off. He hated summer. The other captains would invite him to bonfires, barbeques and a day of lazing about in the scorching sun, trying to get a tan. They were mocking him, surely. One more day before he left for the real world. He had better have accommodation there, or someone was going to take the brunt of Hyourinmaru's wrath. He made his way up to his quarters, nodding at the Shinigami who bothered to greet him. He sighed. Half a day's worth of packing followed by the other half doing paperwork (because Matsumoto would be in no condition to do them) was upon him.

* * *

"Nani? Why should I put up with a self-centered, title-harbouring, name-calling _brat?!_" Kurosaki Ichigo yelled at a man with sandals and a boonie hat on, hiding half his face. "My house is already prepped up for Rukia, what if she comes while that kid is here?"

"Don't shoot the messenger, Kurosaki-san." The man replied calmly, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. "I only received this from Yoruichi-san. These are top orders from Yamamoto sotaichou. Also, Kuchiki-san has no need to come here for the time being. She has rejoined her squad and is carrying out missions there."

"Ahh… souka?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head. He would miss Rukia, but at least he'd have some company, albeit in the form of a moody white-haired boy. "Well, I guess there's really no choice in that matter. When is he arriving?"

"Ahh… he was supposed to arrive half an hour ago, Kurosaki-san."

"AND YOU CHOSE THIS TIME TO TELL ME ABOUT IT?! WHAT IF I HAD SAID NO?!" Ichigo bellowed at Urahara. "Then where would Toshirou have to stay? Orihime's? She's poison him with the weird food she always cooks."

"Teme…" They turned round to find Hitsugaya lugging a huge suitcase nearly the size of himself, bristling with irritation. The gate to Soul Society faded out slowly in the background. "You said that on purpose, didn't you? When are you going to learn that the proper way of addressing me is 'Hitsugaya Taichou'?"

"Ohaiyo, Hitsugaya-san." Urahara said, cheerfully. "I'm going to bed, so take care of Kurosaki-san!" he retreated into his shop, sliding the door shut politely.

"Ah… Toshirou, ja nai ka?" Ichigo ignored the captain's 'greeting', as he responded with his own. He didn't really mean all of what he had said back then. Hitsugaya was quite a decent person if he wanted to be, aside from the constant name-corrections. "Do you need help with that?"

He motioned to the absurdly large suitcase.

"Baka. Who needs your help? And it's Hitsugaya _Taichou_ to you." Hitsugaya huffed. With a great grunt, he hefted the suitcase down the few steps of Urahara's shop onto the ground. "So where am I staying?"

Ichigo stared.

"You honestly don't know?"

"If I knew why would I ask, BOGE?!" Hitsugaya retorted. The past day's happenings were weighing him down; he was a little sorry he had to take it out on Ichigo. A tiny bit sorry.

Ichigo sighed.

"Okay, okay." He said, trying not to flare up the temperamental young captain. "Let's go. My house is not too far away. You'll be staying there, or so I've been told."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened for a moment, but seemed to accept his fate.

"Ah." He pulled his suitcase along, trailing in Ichigo's wake. For a while, both of them walked in silence.

"Ano… Toshiro…" Ichigo began, ignoring the sneer that Hitsugaya gave him. "Why were you sent down here? Surely you trust in my ability to dispatch of the Arrancar?"

"The orders came from above." The snowy haired boy replied. "I am not in a position to question Yamamoto-taichou's orders."

"Besides…" he added. "The Espada have been frequenting this area as of late, and rumour has it that Aizen has managed to gather up an unknown number of Vasto Lordes."

"Souka…" Ichigo scratched his chin. His last encounters with the Espadas had been less than enjoyable, although he hadn't seen much of them lately. He voiced his thoughts out.

"I haven't sensed any of the Espada over the past few weeks."

"That's because you could hardly detect the Reiatsu of even Yamomoto-taichou with that lack of kidou you have." Hitsugaya took pride in his remarks, which seemed to rile up the yellow-haired teenager immediately.

"Did you say something?" Ichigo asked dangerously, vein throbbing in his temple.

Hitsugaya thought it would be better not to start off his stay with an angry Kurosaki, so he sighed and shook his head, an expression of dismay and boredom seeping into his childlike features. He could not wait for this assignment to be over, although he knew that it would probably be many months… years even, for Aizen to be fully defeated. They arrived at the Kurosaki Clinic. Hitsugaya could smell the faint scent of food as he entered, and as he removed his shoes, Ichigo suddenly froze in his steps.

"Toshirou, where's your gigai? I can't have my family seeing a suitcase miraculously carrying itself up the stairs. And also the food vanishing without anyone eating it."

Hitsugaya started with shock. He had completely forgotten about his faux body that Urahara had apparently prepared for him.

"Kurosaki, it's all your fault!" he shouted at the teen, exasperated, although he knew it was entirely his own error. "If you weren't talking about me behind my back with Urahara I would have remember to get it from him!"

"Nani?!" Ichigo yelled back. "You were so busy reminding me to call you 'Hitsugaya-taichou' that you forgot to take it yourself! You self-centred brat!"

"Baka!"

"Boge!" Why he had engaged in name calling with Kurosaki Ichigo of all people eluded him.

Their sniping at each other was interrupted when a gigai which Ichigo thought was Hitsugaya's twin, but immediately realized that it was a mod-soul, burst through the door. Quick as lightning, Ichigo whipped out his Substitute Shinigami badge and dealt the gigai a blow with it, forcing the mod-soul out, where it bounced on the floor a few times before Hitsugaya caught it and put it into his pocket.

"You gotta thank Urahara-san for his quick thinking and his methods." Ichigo laughed, as Hitsugaya struggled into the faux body. "Oh, and you might want to fix that shirt."

Urahara had evidently, in his rush to send the gigai off before the cat was out of the bag, dressed it haphazardly. The black polo shirt that Hitsugaya was wearing was turned inside out. He sighed, and pulled it off, revealing a silky smooth body with rippling muscles.

"Oh? And here I was thinking you were a thin little squirt." Ichigo laughed, as he untied his shoes. "You should walk around like this more often; I bet Rangiku-san would appreciate having your company a lot more, although you're still a humor-deprived grouch."

"Urusai." The boy spat, as he donned the shirt correctly. "Have you thought of a cover story for your family? I'm sure they would wonder why you've brought home another guy with you at this time of night."

"Ah." Ichigo replied, a smirk clearly visible on his face. "I'll tell them I was getting some juice, and I bumped into this cute little boy who had been kicked out of his house by his parents because he was too short for them, and also because his hair looked like he had fallen into a tub of bleach."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. As Ichigo made his way to the living room, Hitsugaya frantically grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Kurosaki, don't you dare!" he hissed sharply, trying to contain his anger. "I've been trod on so much in Seireitei and I don't need you to add to the weight!"

Ichigo stared at him for a moment, taking in the wide-open silvery blue eyes, the permanently furrowed brows and the puckered up mouth.

"Don't worry, I was only joking." He replied, shaking his hand free. "I'll tell them you're an exchange student from some other school, and that I _volunteered_ to take you in. Just stick to the plan, okay? And don't go telling them to call you 'taichou'."

"Kurosaki, I'm not an idiot."

"Good to know." He led the way into the living room, where Isshin and Ichigo's sisters were watching television.

"I'm back." Ichigo said, in that all too familiar casual tone. Yuzu rushed from her spot and began setting the table.

"Okairi, Ichi-nii." She greeted him happily. "Eh? Ano… who's that?"

She had spotted Hitsugaya, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a frown on his face.

"This is Hitsugaya Toshirou." Ichigo began his story. "He's an exchange student from… ano… ano…"

He tried to think of a name his family wouldn't know.

"Seireitei High School." Hitsugaya completed the sentence for him. Karin looked over with interest, and recognized the captain immediately. She was, however, smart enough not to give the game away, as was Isshin, who instead rushed toward Ichigo and his guest, spouting words.

"Ah, so my son has finally agreed to do something useful for once! All those days of forcing him to help out with the medical procedures and practicing my moves on him have worked!"

He stopped mere millimeters from Toshirou's forehead.

"But… but… but… a high schooler isn't supposed to be this short!" he exclaimed, causing the very familiar vein to throb in Hitsugaya's temple. "What has your idiot father been feeding you?! Come, my daughter will cook a good meal for you right this instant! And then she'll… UGH!"

Karin's foot had appeared out of nowhere and slammed into his face, sending him flying into a heap in the corner.

"You talk too much, old man. Just let him sit down and eat."

"So desu." Yuzu was bringing teriyaki chicken out of the microwave and setting it on the table. The smell of dinner quickly made Ichigo's mouth water as he stood looking at it.

"Toshirou, let's put your suitcase upstairs before we have a late dinner." He tugged at Hitsugaya's luggage, and the captain smacked his hand away.

"I can handle it!" he retorted, struggling with the suitcase as he climbed the stairs. "And I'm not hungry."

The lie was made very apparent by the immediate colossal growling of his stomach.

"Ahh, sou ka?" Ichigo said mockingly, as they unpacked Toshirou's belongings, of which consisted of mostly the same black polo shirt and blue denim jeans, into the closet. "In that case, I'll make sure to finish everything. Ja ne!"

Toshirou bristled as he followed Ichigo down the stairs into the dining room.

"Ah? Nanda? I thought you said you weren't hungry?"

"Urusei." He sat at the table and picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. It was delicious. He indulged to his heart's content. Being in the real world made him feel hungry, and he was glad that there was at least something here that made him satiated.

* * *

"Oi, Toshirou." Ichigo nudged the occupied boy. "Where do you want to sleep tonight?"

Hitsugaya looked up from his cellphone with a frown. How rude.

"Where did Kuchiki sleep while she was here?"

"The closet. Why, do you want to sleep there as well?"

"No way, baka." That vein pulsed again. "What do you think I am, some stuffed animal?"

Ichigo sighed. Something was definitely up with this 'boy genius' as the people in Seireitei called him.

"Chill out. There's no way I would let you sleep where Rukia usually sleeps. She'd slaughter me for that." He replied. "No offence, though. It could be anyone, not just you."

"Whatever."

Toshirou looked over at Ichigo's bed, and moved from his place at the windowsill to the edge of the soft mattress, cautiously climbing onto it. He lay down, and stretched his arms out, closing his eyes. Ahh, how comfortable this bed was. Definitely a lot more comfortable than the desk in the tenth division's office, where he spent most of nights, laying his head upon it. He was sooo tired, those many hours of paperwork… all those missions dealing with Hollows in Rukongai… all that research in the library with Ukitaki-kun and Kyouraku-taichou, coupled with the food he just had made him feel extremely sleepy. This bed was so comfortable. So soft. So welcoming. So warm that he could almost…

"Falling asleep, Toshirou?" Ichigo's voice startled him.

"Moron. At the rate you're going, anyone would." He shot back, although it was a little hard to talk in his exhaustion. "Forget it, I'll just sleep downstairs in the…"

He was interrupted by Ichigo nudging him to the side of the bed and pulling the comforter from under him in one swift motion.

"Kurosaki, nani…" he was once again cut off as Ichigo dragged him to the centre of the bed again and pulled the comforter over him. "What's the meaning of this?"

"You can sleep here for the night." Ichigo looked down at the sleepy boy. "I can see that you don't really want to move in your current state."

"Baka." The retort came softly. Toshirou was drifting off. "Where are you going to sleep? This is your house."

Ichigo motioned to the futon on the floor.

"I was planning to let you use that, but since you happily went and took advantage of my bed, I'll sleep there for tonight."

"Hmph. If you really want me to…"

"Get some sleep, you little runt."

"It's Hitsugaya _taichou_ to you…" he managed to groan out before he fell into slumber, without even bothering to undress.

Ichigo sighed as he gazed down upon the little captain. Many years of wisdom outnumbering own life were stored beneath those brows. He wondered what had caused the tensai to lose his usually composed demeanor. He tugged the polo shirt off of the boy with some difficulty, and folded it neatly before placing it on the side-table to the right of his bed. For a moment, he looked down upon the smooth, albeit muscular body of the white-haired boy. He actually looked pretty cute, didn't he? Ichigo bristled, and brushed the thought away. For a second, he could have sworn something was stirring inside of him. Feelings for this bad-tempered little uptight brat who thought he had the right to order he, Ichigo, around? Hmph. Not a chance.

He could not, however, resist reaching out and ruffling the boy's silky white locks. Just to see how it felt. In response, Hitsugaya took in one huge breath, and groaned softly as Ichigo's fingers ran through his white tuft. Ichigo stared, mesmerized, until a little sigh from the boy caused him to shake himself mentally and pull the covers over the boy's exposed torso.

His bedroom door slammed, startling him. He turned around, and saw Karin standing at the doorway, arms folded across her chest.

"Ichi-nii, what's going on?" that demanding tone of hers did not help the tense atmosphere.

"Ah, what are you talking about?" Ichigo began. "This is…"

"Why is Hitsugaya taichou in our house? And why is he sleeping in _your_ bed of all places?" the words cut him off.

He stared with wide-eyed shock at his sister.

"Karin… you know who that is?"

"Baka. I can see things as well, you know." She sighed. "If I can see you in your Shinigami form, I most certainly can see him in his form."

For a moment, Ichigo stared at her, aghast.

"It was a soccer match." she explained. If anything, the expression on Ichigo's face intensified.

"Toshirou can play soccer?" he spluttered.

"Don't look so surprised." Karin said, with a frown on her face. "We were attacked by Hollows during the match and he changed into his Shinigami form, which looked exactly like yours, only that he had a white haori on with a '10' sign on it."

"Yeah, that's the mark of a captain." Ichigo sighed. The bubble had burst, the folly had failed, and the ploy was broken. "Listen, don't tell Oyaji and Yuzu, okay?"

"I'm not an idiot." It was uncanny how much she sounded like the gently snoring boy on Ichigo's bed. "I still haven't told them you're a Shinigami yet, so why would I tell on Toshirou-kun?"

"… I'll leave it in your hands then."

"I'm going downstairs to see what our idiot father is doing with Yuzu." A cackle of laughter from Isshin emanated from downstairs.

"Oh, and close the door please. Somehow I don't think Toshirou would take too kindly to oyaji's bantering and tantrums."

"Ah, wakata." She shut the door silently. Ichigo could hear her footsteps padding away downstairs, as he settled in for the night as well. He hoped tomorrow would be a better day for the stressed out captain.

* * *

"Oi! It's nearly twelve in the afternoon. Get up!" Something poked him in his side. He groaned, and shunted it away as he scooted to the corner of the bed. Despite his tough looks as a captain, he really was very ticklish. Right now, he didn't want to get up. Not from this warm bed. These comfortable sheets. These…

"OI! Toshirou!" Ichigo jabbed the sleepy boy a few more times before he sighed, and began attacking his ribs and armpits relentlessly. As expected, Hitsugaya woke in an instant, choking from the contact.

"K-Kurosaki!" he gasped, fending Ichigo's hands away. "Kisama! Yamete!"

"Glad to see you're awake. Now get out of my bed and go take a shower."

"Baka. I'll take a shower when I want to." He slid his legs off the bed and headed toward the bathroom anyway, his normally spiky hair tousled by his twisting and turning in bed. "You'd better not look!"

"Baaka! What's there to see? Little Toshirou? Sorry, I've other things to be interested in." he barely managed to dodge the alarm clock that was flung at his face. "Teme!"

The bathroom door slammed, and Ichigo heard the squeaking of the faucets before the sound of high pressured water filled the room. He made the bed, wondering what Yuzu had prepared for lunch. A sudden ringing sound accompanied by a vibration in the sheets made him jump, before he realized that it was indeed Hitsugaya's cellphone, which he groped for. Hmm, it was a text message. What was in it?

"Tenth Squad Captain Toshirou Hitsugaya, you are ordered to provide protection to the Kurosaki family. Persons of interest include Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu. Please do not worry about the substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo, as he can take care of himself. Ex-captain Isshin is also a non-critical protection subject."

Ichigo stared. 'Ex-captain Isshin'?

"Oi, who told you that it was okay for you to mess about with my possessions?" An annoyed Hitsugaya poked his head out of the door.

"Nanda? You left this on the bed yesterday, when you didn't even bother to undress before going to bed." Ichigo shot back. "It's only a reminder of your duties. Oh, and have you brought a towel with you for your stay?"

"Gck!" Hitsugaya realized his carelessness. He mentally kicked himself. Now what?

"Ahh, mundai-nai." Ichigo said casually. "Look to your left."

The captain did so.

"Do you see a white towel?"

"Ah."

"Don't touch that towel. That's mine."

"Then why did you tell me about it in the first place?!"

"Shut up. You can use the blue towel beside it. Did you bring clothes inside?"

"…"

"They're outside the door on the floor. Yare-yare… is someone not up to his normal standard of intelligence? Maybe being in a gigai has lowered your smartness, _taichou. _And since when was my father a Shinigami?!"

"Urusai." A hand almost as white as snow reached out and pulled the clothes in. "You'd better not have done anything to the phone."

A minute later the captain exited the bathroom and snatched the phone from Ichigo's hands. He looked the message over, and flipped it shut.

"So… what are you going to do with the rest of the day?" Ichigo asked. "You've already wasted half of it."

"Damare. There's really nothing much I can do for now, since my orders were to maintain vigil over Karakura as well as protecting your family. Becoming a Shinigami was a mistake."

"Nani? Then what would have happened if I hadn't tried to rescue Rukia? Aizen would have destroyed Soul Society!"

"Just who do you think I am?" Hitsugaya shot back. "I'm a captain, and there would have been nine more captains there to deal with it."

He was fighting a losing battle, and he knew it. Kurosaki's assistance during that time had been invaluable that even Yamamoto-taichou had officially recognized him as one of Soul Society's allies. Ichigo, for his part, chose not to embarrass the captain even more and busied himself tidying his room. He pulled out his iPod and stuffed the earpieces into his ears as he went about vacuuming the room. Hitsugaya stared on. What a strange contraption. Did this _thing_ actually clean the room? And how did it work? Further thoughts were dissuaded when Ichigo turned the 'thing' off and sat at his desk, leaning back against his chair and reading a comic, not paying attention to Hitsugaya at all.

"What are these things?" Hitsugaya asked, sitting on Ichigo's bed. He pointed at the earphones.

"These things are little speakers." Ichigo replied, removing one earphone. "They play music into my ears."

"Ah."

"Here." He thrust the earphones into the white haired boy's hands as well as the iPod. "Put those into your ears."

He did so, fully expecting it to be an uncomfortable experience. To his surprise, the earphones were actually quite snug, and settled into his canal neatly.

"Press play."

"Play?"

"That arrow that looks like it's pointing right."

"KUROSAKI!" Rock music blared into his ears at full volume. "Nanda kore wa?!"

"Ah, wari." He turned the volume down a little.

"What noise is this?" this was different from the gongs he heard in Seireitei. Very different.

"It's called Heavy Metal. And if you don't have anything nice to say about it, don't say anything."

"Hmph." The captain crossed his hands over his chest. The day ahead looked to be a very boring one. Or not.

His cellphone beeped urgently, as well as Ichigo's Shinigami badge.

"What is it?"

"Arrancar. Karakura Southern District."

"Ikuzo!"

"Wait!" Hitsugaya grabbed Ichigo's forearm.

"What?"

"You stay here."

"WHAT? WHY?!"

"Someone needs to protect your family. Your father is out gallivanting somewhere in Karakura, but he can take care of himself. Your sisters cannot."

Ichigo realized the truth of the situation. He didn't want to make the captain's job a lot more difficult than it really was.

"Ah. I'll stay here."

"I'll leave my gigai here with a communicator so that if anything happens here, I'll know."

"Wakata."

Hitsugaya swallowed the gikongan and burst out of his gigai in a brief flurry of reiatsu. He was off immediately, shunpo-ing out of sight in a matter of seconds.

Ichigo didn't think it necessary to become a Shinigami, so he simply went back to reading the comic, although his senses were tingling madly. Something wasn't right. Why all the way in the Southern District? It was as if something was trying to separate them. That was it! Why else would Aizen order the Arrancar to appear so far away? He probably knew that Ichigo was a Vizard, and therefore was far too powerful, coupled with Hitsugaya, for his underlings to do any damage. But what did he want with Toshirou?

The communicator in Toshirou's gigai's trouser pocket beeped, and without thinking, Ichigo dipped his hand into it and opened it. When he saw next made his heart skip a beat.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, please retreat immediately. There are four high-levelled Arrancars in the area you are heading to as well as two Espadas. We have confirmed the limit release but the threat level is too high for even a taichou to handle."

The fool had left his communicator here. It was true that he would know what was going on in the Kurosaki household, but how was he to know the trap that he was about to step into?

"Damn!" he switched into his Shinigami form and leapt out of the window, trying to trace Hitsugaya's reiatsu.

* * *

"Teme…" Hitsugaya growled at the lone Arrancar that assumed the shape of a dog. "Who sent you? Aizen? What does he want?"

He had already been forced to go into Shikai, and for some reason, the limit release seal had appeared on his chest. This Arrancar was a force to be reckoned with.

"I have no need to tell you what Aizen-sama's objectives are." The Arrancar said in its broken voice, taunting him. "All you need to know is that you must die."

Hitsugaya smirked.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the one who will die is you! Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"

The icy dragon charged at the Arrancar as the skies turned black. A terrific crash was heard, as the dragon seemingly hit its target. As the mist cleared, Hitsugaya gaped. There were now three more Arrancars in the fray, along with… an Espada? No, TWO Espadas! Damn it, that's why he had had his limit released. He knew he was no match for these enemies. Quickly, he turned to Shunpo away to wait for backup, but his escape was very neatly cut off by one of the Espadas.

"Trying to run away?" Ulquiorra appeared before him in a crackle. "I'm afraid it's far too late for that."

"Kisama!" he grasped his soul slayer. "Ban…"

The Espada was too fast for him. Before he could even release Hyourimaru, Ulquiorra had appeared beside him and his razor sharp hand had found its way into Hitsugaya's abdomen, twisting and turning his innards. The white haired captain coughed up blood, as he felt unfathomable pain.

"Uaaaargh!" he gripped the hand as though pushing against it would somehow lessen the pain. "Uhhh!"

He crumpled to his knees, blood spurting out and staining everything in sight. Was this it? All because he had left his communicator back in Kurosaki's house. Ulquiorra gazed at him with disdain.

"Not dead yet?" he pulled his hand out of Hitsugaya, causing the boy to scream in agony. "Try this for size." He stabbed Hitsugaya in the middle of his chest, fracturing his ribs and puncturing his diaphragm.

"Ungh…" his body wouldn't move. It hurt. A lot. Hyourinmaru would not listen to his feeble attempts at bringing his sword hand up to cut this hateful being. He slowly began to fall from the sky, his unfinished ice wings crumbling.

"_Getsuga Tenshou!_"

A crescent wave of death narrowly missed the Espada, who had to flash step out of the way. The pale face twisted into a frown.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Ah." Ichigo stood in the air, a limp Hitsugaya slung over his arm. "Six captains have been mobilized to this position, so if I were you, I'd go back to wherever you came from, Hueco Mundo or whatever it's called."

"Damn you, Kurosaki!" The second Espada spoke up, unnoticed until now. "Because of you, we've failed our mission. _Kill Toshirou Hitsugaya. _I will kill you the next time we meet!"

"Ah, urusai. You say that all the time." Ichigo leered at Grimmjow. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'll let the other captains take care of you. Ja ne."

He flash-stepped away, Hitsugaya tight in his arms. It was a matter of minutes before he arrived back at the clinic and placed the boy onto the floor.

"Oi, Toshirou. Daijoubu ka?"

"B… baka…" Hitsugaya was able to rasp. "I… told you… to stay… here."

His bleeding was getting worse. Ulquiorra had most definitely poisoned his own skin before he had made those fatal attacks. Ichigo pressed his hand on the wound, trying to staunch it.

"God damn it!" It wasn't working. He looked around frantically, and spotted Hitsugaya's communicator.

"Ah, moshi-moshi, Taichouu!" Matsumoto's cheerful voice greeted him.

"Rangiku-san, Hitsugaya Taichou has been critically wounded in battle. He needs a member of the fourth squad, preferably Unohana Taichou to tend to him immediately. He has been wounded by Ulquiorra."

Matsumoto's tone of voice changed immediately.

"Hai. I'll get on it straight away. Tell taichou to hold on." She shouted orders to some unknown member of the squad. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Tell them to hurry."

* * *

First time writing a Bleach fic, so please forgive me if there are an inadequacies or errors in my Bleach knowledge. Appreciate criticism and/or compliments, make my day :)

And also, many thanks must go to HeukYa, who both indirectly and directly induced my "love" for the IchiHitsu fad, with her stories "Empathy" and its sequel.


	2. Coke?

Thanks for the three wonderful reviews I received as well as the favourites! I daresay I have quite a lot of free time on my hands at this moment of time, so I bring you Chapter 2 of this story. Kudos must be directed again in the general whereabouts of HeukYa who corrected me on some key elements of the story, which I will attempt to rectify as it goes along.

* * *

A chrome of red highlighted the blood vessels in his eyelids. Where was he? He wasn't dead, was he? No, definitely not. He remembered Kurosaki's callused hands gripping hold of him as he fell from the sky. He tried to move.

Ouch. That hurt. A _lot._

Where was he? Soft… comfortable… he was on Kurosaki's bed. Again? He tried to force his eyelids open, feeling the burn as his dry eyes rubbed against them. A hand pressed down on his wounded abdomen. A lightning bolt of pain shot through him as he instinctively tensed his abdominal muscles. He succeeded in squirming slightly, and even that little action brought white hot knives into his body.

"Aaaargh…" he groaned, falling limp again as the pain overcame him. Sweat was now starting to flow in copious amounts, staining the sheets below him.

"Ah, Hitsugaya-taichou." Unohana's kind face looked down at him. Hitsugaya always treated her with respect and courtesy, and she always spared a moment to smile at him while wishing him good day. Unfortunately, a smile was what her face was lacking at the moment.

"Hanatarou!" she called sharply. "Bring the painkillers! I have to complete the operation but I cannot do that while Hitsugaya-taichou turns the place upside down in his pain-fuelled angst."

This was strange. She wasn't usually like this. Wasn't she always calm about everything? He felt the jab of a needle in his torso, and winced, biting his lip as he tried not to yell with the pain.

"Mmh…"

"Just a few more seconds, Hitsugaya-taichou." Unohana assured the quivering boy. "You're still in a critical condition. I'm going to give you one more injection to put you back to sleep."

He felt one more jab in his arm, and gratefully accepted the wave of nothingness that was pushing against his consciousness.

* * *

"Unohana-san, do you think he'll be alright?" Ichigo asked the captain, face wrought with concern.

"Kurosaki-san, shinpai shinaide kudasai." She replied in her soft voice. On the bed beside them, Hitsugaya lay, his brow furrowed with pain that had evidently made its way into his subconscious. "I have done everything I can for him, and although it is a grave injury indeed, his life is not in any danger as far as I know. I have sent a sample of his blood back to Kurotsutchi-taichou for inspection for any unheard of toxins to be on the safe side."

The door burst open. Silhouetted in the frame was a sweaty woman whose breasts blatantly hung out from her kimono.

"Taichou!" she ran toward the bed. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner! Eh… taichou?"

"Rangiku-san, he cannot answer you now. I have injected him with a strong tranquiliser, courtesy of the Technological Bureau. He's down for the next twelve hours at least."

"Ah… souka?" the blonde lady looked downcast. "I came as soon as I could after I called you, but Yamomoto-sotaichou called me to his office to give me new orders."

"Ah." Ichigo said off-handedly, gazing down at the heavily bandaged Hitsugaya. He was hardly recognizable with all that gauze wrapped round his body, and the only thing which proved his identity was that familiar shock of white hair on his head.

"Well, I'll be going now." Unohana said gently, rising and leaving the room silently. "I'll leave Hanatarou here in case anything happens."

The timid seventh seat of the fourth squad nodded from the side of the bed, where he was pressing an ice-pack to Hitsugaya's forehead.

"I'll try not to disappoint you, Taichou." He said, looking down at the floor. Unohana smiled.

"I know you won't." The door shut softly as the captain took her leave.

For a while, there was silence except for the occasional moans that Hitsugaya let out in his deep slumber.

"Ano… Rangiku san?"

"Hmm?"

"Wari. It's my fault that he got injured so badly. If only I hadn't insisted to come along, he wouldn't have left his communicator here to reassure me of my family's safety."

"A-ah!" Matsumoto tried to dispel the tension in the air. "Nani? Taichou is always like that! It's not your fault that he did what he did!"

"Hai…" he looked at the powerful captain, reduced to a pile of bandages on his bed. "Still… something was bothering him when he came over yesterday. I wonder what it was."

"Well…" Matsumoto paused, not entirely certain that telling Ichigo what was on her captain's mind without his permission was wise idea. "I'm sure it's just the summer and his paperwork. And also, this month is…"

She cut herself off as she nearly spilled the beans. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the interval.

"What? This month is what?"

"O-ooh! This month is the time where I get to come to the real world and do some shopping!" she bounced back into her cheerful mood, making the hairs on Ichigo's neck stand on end. "E-excuse me while I go to that huge building in the middle of town which has all the little shops inside that sell lots of things!"

"… You mean a Karakura Shopping Centre."

"Ah yes!" she leapt out of the window. "Take care of Taichou for me!"

She shunpo-ed off before Ichigo could say anything else, presumably to go get her gigai from Urahara, or wherever she had dumped it.

"A-ahh… Rangiku-san." Hanatarou froze, a footprint visible on his forehead. It seems that in her haste, the busty vice-captain had not looked where she was going and used the teenage boy for the base of her flash step.

Ichigo sighed.

"Really…"

He moved closer to Hitsugaya, getting his first real look at the captain after he had made that timely rescue. He looked the worst for wear. Even his bandages were starting to get stained by his bleeding. He wondered if Unohana knew some sort of Kidou that stopped the bandages from sticking to his wounds as his blood dried. He imagined that it wouldn't be a pretty sight trying to tear the bandages away from Hitsugaya's injuries.

"Ichigo…"

"Yeah?"

"Stop blaming yourself for Hitsugaya-taichou's injuries." The boy resumed his job, making sure that his patient's fever did not peak any more than it should. "Please trust in Unohana-taichou's abilities. And mine."

"Ah, I will." He pulled up a chair, reaching for his comic. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Hitsugaya groaned awake, a dull throbbing in his chest and stomach making its presence known in his befuddled brain. He became aware that he was extremely thirsty. And dehydrated to, to think of it.

"W-waterr…" he slurred, speaking to no one in particular. The room was still dark, and the early tendrils of dawn were filtering their way in through the gaps in the navy blue curtains.

"Ah, matte-oh." Ichigo's voice said sleepily. He heard the yellow-haired teenager make his way downstairs, tiptoeing his way through the silent house. The tinkle of water filling a glass reverberated around the clinic, and after a few seconds, Ichigo reappeared with said glass in his hand.

"Can you sit up?"

"Mngh… ah…" he tried to fight the signals of denial his body was sending him. "Itai…"

"Okay, okay. Just hang on, I'll help you."

Strong hands tried their best to be gentle with the frail, broken body.

"Don't try to move, okay?" Ichigo leant him against the metal headboard. For a few seconds, he felt the unpleasant sensation of the hard rails against his bandaged back before Ichigo leant him forward and placed a pillow behind him, before leaning him back again.

"Thanks…" he muttered, trying to reach for the glass. Ichigo held it out of reach.

"Teme…"

"You can't even move your hands properly, how can you expect to hold a full glass of water without dropping it?"

"You're… you're not going to… feed me… like… a baby… are you?"

"Baka. Use this." Ichigo stuck a drinking straw into the clear fluid and held it up to the boy's mouth.

"Nani kore wa?"

"You suck on it." Hitsugaya obeyed, and was duly rewarded by the refreshing flow of water into his mouth and down his throat. All too soon, the glass was empty.

"Still thirsty?" Ichigo held up a jug of water.

He nodded as best as he could. The glass was refilled and placed in front of him again. He drank to his heart's content.

"Kurosaki…"

"Hmm?"

"How long have you been awake?"

Ichigo yawned and glanced at his alarm clock.

"It's five in the morning now. You were injured at one in the afternoon yesterday."

"Baka. Just who do you think I am? I don't need you to baby me."

"Oh? Souka?" Ichigo leered. "Then who would have gotten you your water?"

"Unohana would have left someone here." He was recovering his sense of judgement, but his speech was still fraught with pain.

"Oh, you mean him?" Ichigo motioned to Hanatarou, who was drooling on the futon he was slumbering on. "He fell asleep ages ago."

"But…"

"Don't argue, you've lost." Ichigo said, a wide grin on his face. Hitsugaya could do with a lot more cheering up, he thought.

"Kisama…" In a normal situation, those words accompanied by a look of pure venom in his face could have convinced Ichigo, but in his state, he wouldn't have scared even Hanatarou. A sudden wave of pain washed across him, and he tensed, groaning with agony.

"What's going on?!" Ichigo asked with concern. He felt the captain's throat, and noticed a sudden change in the rhythm of the heartbeat. "Is it hurting you?"

"Ugh…" was all the white-haired captain could manage, as his fists gripped the sheets, his mind trying to will the pain away. He shook with the ordeal. There must have been a trace of the poison still in his body; although not significant, it posed a great deal of discomfort to the boy, to say the least. Ichigo frantically shook Hanatarou, trying to wake the Medical Shinigami, but all in vain. The boy was out of it. He hadn't even bothered to get into his gigai, but had fallen asleep slumped on the bed hours earlier, forcing Ichigo to drag him over to the futon. Well, if he wasn't going to wake up...

"Where does it hurt?" Ichigo grabbed a syringe of painkillers from Hanatarou's pack. Hitsugaya nodded down to his chest, whimpering in pain.

"Please bear with me." He stabbed the syringe into Hitsugaya's right breast, and the captain muffled his yell by turning his head and burying his face in the pillow he was leaning against.

Ichigo watched the boy carefully, trying to see whether he reacted to the painkillers. There would obviously be some time before they took effect, but Hitsugaya was fighting tooth and nail to contain his agony. Without thinking, Ichigo grabbed for the captain's left hand and grasped it with his own. Hitsugaya immediately clamped down onto the offered hand in a vice-like grip, such was his pain.

"Ungh… ungh…" he groaned into the pillow, quivering violently. Ichigo tentatively placed a hand on the captain's shoulder to try and calm him, but he knew that it would be of little use. They had to wait until the pain went away.

"Just hold on, Toshirou." He whispered into the boy's ear. He rubbed the sweaty shoulder, trying to comfort the groaning boy.

Finally, the painkillers took effect. Hitsugaya felt the pain subside which each subsequent throb, and groaned with relief as he went limp, exhausted from the toll it took on him.

"Toshirou, daijoubu ka?" Ichigo shook his shoulder gently.

"Itai… stop… it hurts…"

"Wari."

The boy didn't reply; instead choosing to very slowly turn around and lean back against the pillow, wincing as he did so.

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen again." Ichigo reassured him. "Whenever you feel the pain, let me know and I'll inject the painkillers into your body."

"The injection… hurts as well."

"Oh come on. I thought you were a taichou? What's up? Can't handle a little pain?"

Hitsugaya allowed Ichigo a little smile, which was very unlike him, the teen noticed.

"Damare."

"I think you should get some sleep." Ichigo said, as he lowered Hitsugaya back into a lying position. "Just yell if you need anything."

"What about you?"

"I'll be here."

"Baka. Let the fourth squad do their job."

Ichigo smirked.

"He's exhausted. Spending the whole day performing kidou on you and mopping your forehead is hard work, you know?" he replied. "I'll get Orihime here later today to see what she can do."

"Kurosaki."

"Ah?"

"Arigato."

"Baaka. Get some sleep." He ruffled the captain's hair gently, fully expecting an outburst of some sort. Instead, the boy simply sighed, and closed his eyes as he felt his locks being disturbed by the rough hand.

"You actually really like this, don't you? Why do you smack everyone's hands away when they try to do this?"

"Urusai. I'm not a child, and I hate people who treat me like one."

"So why aren't you smacking my hand away?"

The boy sighed.

"Because I'm too tired to do so." He lied. "Just… keep doing it. Just this once. It puts me to sleep."

Ichigo nodded, as he ran his fingers through the silky mane of hair.

"And… Kurosaki?"

"Yes?"

The faint trace of a blush was visible upon the fading captain as he said with some venom:

"Don't tell Matsumoto about this. Ever."

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun, I've done everything I can for him." Inoue said, as her barrier faded. "I've healed as many wounds as possible, but the cuts on his chest and stomach are a little more than I can handle. For some reason, I can't seem to heal them completely."

"Ah, daijoubu, Inoue." Ichigo replied. "Arigato."

The girl looked Hitsugaya over carefully to see if she had missed any parts, and straightened up.

"How is he?"

"Kurosaki-kun, I'm not a medical expert, but I think he'll pull through." She reassured him. "I think that it's wonderful that you're showing such concern for someone from Soul Society."

"Nani? He's my friend, just like all of you are." Ichigo replied, matter-of-factly. "Although he can get a little grumpy at times."

"Teme… I'm not invisible, you know?" An annoyed Hitsugaya snarled from the bed. "The only reason I'm here is because I got orders from high-up."

"No." Ichigo laughed. "The reason you're here is because you left your communicator here and went to fight two Espada on your own."

"Kisama… the only reason I left it here was because I wasn't convinced you'd stay here." He shot back. "And as I expected, you didn't."

"If I hadn't gone, you'd be nothing but a few crystals of ice on the ground." Ichigo countered.

"Urusai!"

The door suddenly burst open, and Matsumoto flounced into the room, bouncing on her heels.

"Taichouuu, guess what I bought for you?"

"I don't want to know."

"Oh…" she pulled a long face. "You're no fun."

"That's exactly the reason why."

"Anyway…" she pulled out a neatly wrapped present. "… this is for you! No, no, don't open it now. Wait till it's night, it'll be more fun then."

She knelt down beside him.

"Taichou, there have been new orders issued to you." She said, putting on a serious face. "You are to stay in the Kurosaki household until your injuries heal. The intelligence bureau has identified you as a target for the Arrancars."

"Why can't I heal in Soul Society?" the grumpy boy demanded. "You can easily get Unohana-taichou to get her zanpakutou to carry me there."

"First of all, Unohana Taichou's released form cannot fit through the Senkai gate." Matsumoto replied. "Second of all, we have found traces of an unknown reiatsu in Sereitei, and this signifies an intruder. With all the things going on at the same time, we can't be sure of your security."

Her face was deadly serious this time.

"In this place, there is only Ichigo here. If any help is required, he will contact us and we will send reinforcements immediately. Yamamoto-sotaichou has also ordered Lieutenant Abarai Renji from 6th Squad and Madarame Ikkaku as well as Yumichika Ayasegawa from Eleventh squad to take over your duties for the time being."

"Ah… I see."

"Rangiku-san, this is the first time I've heard you speak so intelligently!" Inoue noticed.

"Ah, you think so?" the busty woman whipped out a notepad from somewhere around her cleavage. "These are Yamamoto-taichou's orders. I studied them before hand and even memorized them."

"Gck…"

"What's the matter, taichou?"

"Nothing. Just go." He replied. "And finish that paperwork!"

"Ah, taichou." She said, skipping out the door. "Ja ne! I'll tell Ukitaki-taichou to send more candy to you."

"Baka! I don't even eat that stuff." He shouted at her retreating back. "You'd better include information on the intruder in your next report! I'll be waiting!"

Inoue's healing had done her part. He didn't feel spikes of pain whenever he moved, although once in awhile he would absent-mindedly rub his torso and immediately gasp in pain.

"Ah, I'm going to go now, Kurosaki-kun." Inoue walked toward the open door. "I'm making red-bean paste with chocolate cake for dinner. Want some?"

Both boys' faces paled as they pictured their doom should they accept the invitation.

"A-ah, no thanks, Orihime." Ichigo stammered. "I'll see you out."

Both of them left the room, leaving Hitsugaya to himself as Ichigo closed the door behind him. He sighed, and glanced at the clock. Eleven thirty AM. Had Kurosaki stayed up for that long? Hanatarou had awoken somewhere between from when he fell asleep and when he woke, and had left. It was obvious that Unohana-taichou knew that he would be fine with Kurosaki. The whiff of something cooking sent his taste buds nearly to overdrive. He heard Kurosaki's voice presumably speaking to his sister before the door was pushed open, letting the overpowering smell into the room.

"Kurosaki…" he tried to think of a way to ask the teenager for food without sounding like he depended on him for it. "I… Can I… Would you mind…"

"Save it." Ichigo placed the tray which contained a plate of Teppanyaki beef and rice on the study table. "I figured you'd be hungry after not eating for a day and a half."

He felt Ichigo's hands on him and stiffened.

"Relax." The teen said irritably. "I'm just carrying you to the chair."

"Kurosaki, I don't need…"

"I wouldn't be doing this if I was sure you could do it by yourself."

"…"

He was gently cradled in Ichigo's arms and brought to the table, where he was placed on a comfortable armchair, presumably brought from downstairs with much huffing and puffing.

"When did you bring this chair up?"

"When Orihime came." A simple answer. Pillows were even stacked on the chair so that he was able to reach the food without stretching his arms and reopening the wounds.

He dug into the food, relishing Yuzu's cooking. Kurosaki was a very lucky person, if he always had a sister who cooked like this for him. Not that the servants' cooking in Soul Society was any worse. It was just that he liked a change once in awhile.

"Do you want a drink? Coke or something?"

"Coke?"

"…"

Ichigo was back in an instant, carrying the drink in his hand.

"Nanda kore wa? And how do you drink from that?" he tried to draw his soul slayer to poke a hole in the can, but realized he was in his gigai.

"Baka." Ichigo pulled the tab on the can and opened the drink with a hiss. "There. Drink."

He tasted it, and raised his eyebrows. This wasn't half bad. Ichigo smiled at the snowy boy as he gulped the drink down with vigour. How he could make his way up to a ranked captain and be so uninformed of the real world eluded him.

Five minutes passed, and all the food was gone. Hitsugaya leant back against the back of the armchair, bloated. As there was no one around except Ichigo who himself lacked manners, he decided it was okay to let out a tiny burp. And so he did, drawing a raised eyebrow from the yellow haired teen, who took no notice from his comic. He did take notice, however, when Hitsugaya, without thinking, went to rub his filled stomach. He caught the small hand before it could touch said area.

"Again you nearly hurt yourself." Ichigo said, a frown on his forehead. "Think, please."

He snatched his hand back, huffing at the teen. Ichigo, on the other hand, could not take his mind off the softness of the young captain's hand. As if he really were as young as he looked. What soft skin. He gazed at the reclining boy thoughtfully. He wondered what it would be like to feel that soft skin against his. Wait, what was he thinking? Not again.

"Kurosaki, what is it? You've been staring at me for the past five minutes." Hitsugaya said, nearly crossing his hands over his chest but stopping himself in time.

"It's just… never mind." Ichigo went back to his comic.

"No. Tell me what's going on."

"Yesterday when you came… you seemed a little… unlike yourself. Why?"

"It's because of my duties, Kurosaki. A carefree person like you could never understand what a captain…"

"That's what Rangiku-san told me." Ichigo cut him off. "I could tell she was lying immediately. What's up, Toshirou?"

"That's none of your business, Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya shot back. "The going-ons in my mind have absolutely nothing to do with you, and you should leave it at that. Stop nosing around where you shouldn't be. And it's Hitsugaya _taichou_ for the last time."

"Hey, no need to get so defensive." Ichigo said, putting his comic down. "I was just curious, that's all. Didn't mean to intrude into your personal affairs."

Hitsugaya sighed. He knew he had overstepped the line very slightly.

"It's not your fault, Kurosaki." He said, eyes downcast. "I'll tell you when I'm ready to share it. Just… not now."

An uneasy silence filled the room for awhile, until Ichigo decided to break it. He would always be open to hear what the captain had to say, but for now, he wasn't going to spoil the boy's mood any more than he had to.

"Wakata." The teenager threw himself onto his now empty bed, and lay on his back. The last fifteen hours had been filled with dread, foreboding, despair and finally relief as the captain was successfully saved by Unohana.

"I wonder what would happen if your gigai got injured while you were in it." Ichigo pondered. "If I get hurt in my real body then my Shinigami form would be hurt as well, and vice versa."

"Why do you ask?"

"Because it's obvious that whatever injuries you sustain are transferred to your gigai, as far as I can see." He motioned to Hitsugaya's bandaged body. "I remember Renji getting hurt in his gigai, and the bandage somehow transferred itself to his soul."

"That pretty much tells you everything doesn't it?" the white haired boy retorted. "And for some reason, gigais can catch colds."

"Ah… sou ka?"

"Ah. You would expect us Shinigami to be protected from the elements when we get into our faux bodies, but Urahara designed the final product a little too meticulously." He replied. "I remember catching a cold in this gigai. It was not an experience I'm too fond of remembering."

"Wait, wait." Ichigo interrupted. "_You _caught a cold? _You_?"

"Yes, me." Hitsugaya replied irritably. "Why?"

"But…" Ichigo stammered, trying to find the words. "I could never imagine you with a _cold._ That's like saying you go to elementary school, and even then it's far easier to picture you with a shiny school bag, dressed in blue shorts and a white cotton shirt."

"Your imagination gets the better of you sometimes, Kurosaki. Now do you want me to continue or not?"

"Ah. This is getting interesting." Ichigo listened with rapt attention.

"There's really nothing much to it." The boy scratched his white locks. "I just felt like the weight of a thousand worlds was crashing down on me, and couldn't do much but lie on Urahara's futons for two days. It was real torture."

Ichigo pictured a sick Hitsugaya with a towel on his head, thermometer in his mouth and being bundled up in a huge blanket. Wait… there was something missing. A factor that he had discounted unwittingly. What was it? Ah!

"What was Rangiku-san doing?"

The boy blanched.

"She wouldn't stop fussing over me. 'Taichouuu this, taichouu that.'" He replied, quailing slightly. "She would keep coming back with ice packs between her… things… and smother me in them, not realizing that she was suffocating me, as usual."

Ichigo laughed at the images that were running through his head.

"Don't worry, I don't think you need any more icepacks unless your fever peaks again. Tell you what, instead of doing what Matsumoto did, I'll bring you cold drinks instead." He voiced. "How's that sound?"

"If you're going to bring me drinks, I'd like some more of that brown drink you gave me. What was it…? Coal or something."

"Coke."

"Ah."

"So… what do you want to do now? It's obvious you can't move about, so we can't go out." Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head. "Unless you wouldn't mind being seen perched on my back as we walk around the town centre."

"Kurosaki, don't you dare."

"Ah, wakata. I was only joking anyway. Hmm… what do I have which even a Taichou would find entertaining?" he rummaged through his closet. "Ah."

He placed a white plastic box on the floor.

"… nani kore wa?"

"It's a Nintendo Wii." Ichigo announced proudly. "I bought it for Karin and Yuzu, but Karin's always playing football and Yuzu's always cooking, so it sits in my closet with Rukia. And also…"

He pulled out a small 15-inch television set.

"How she managed to smuggle this into the house I don't know."

He plugged the wires in and booted the console up.

"Kurosaki, it's all very well telling me it's a … Wee… but I don't know what that does." Hitsugaya craned his neck, trying to scrutinize the box. "Is it some puzzle box thing where you have to rearrange the pieces so they become one color? No, that's not it either, it's all white."

"No, that's not a Rubik's cube. Here." He felt two white sticks thrust into his hand. "Hang on."

He felt himself gently lifted up again and placed back on the bed, where a pillow had already been set up against the metal headboard for him to lean against. Ichigo placed the television just out of reach of his toes, and moved it to the centre of the bed so that both of them had a clear view of the glass screen.

"What's this?" he held up the tokens which had been placed in his possession.

"Those are controllers." Ichigo replied. "You strap them around your hands, like so."

"Ah…"

"Calm down, you can take them off once you're finished. Now… try not to exert yourself too much."

He inserted the least action-intensive game he could find into the console; Wii Tennis.

"What's this game?"

"Yare yare, it's called Tennis. You move the controller in your left hand to control the player, and your right hand hits the ball as it comes to you. The ball has to be returned after the first bounce, or else you lose the round. Understand?"

"Sounds simple enough."

"You sure?" Ichigo's eyes glinted. "I'm going to kick your ass in this game, so get ready."

As expected, Hitsugaya was soundly thrashed in the first two games, and the irritation was visible in his voice.

"Kurosaki, cut me some slack here! It's my first time playing!" he growled at the teen seated beside him.

"Nani? It's your second time playing, isn't it?" the reply cut deep. "Stop making excuses and play."

He gritted his teeth.

"I'll show you." He was not called a genius for nothing.

"We'll see."

The next few games were effortless for Ichigo, but after the sixth game, he began finding it slightly more difficult to win every subsequent round. As expected, he thought, watching Hitsugaya's face contorted with concentration.

"HA!" Hitsugaya gave the controller a quick twitch, and his player volleyed the ball superbly past Ichigo's player. "I win, Kurosaki! I told you I'd show… ahh, itai."

He had thrown his hands up in that brief moment of joy, but had stretched his chest muscles slightly, causing a bolt of pain to shoot through him.

"I thought I told not to become too excited."

"Damare! Pick a player! I'll defeat him with impunity." At this point Ichigo decided that that was enough for the day. Both to stop Hitsugaya overexerting himself, and also to stop his pride from being lost to a Gotei 13 captain who looked like he was about twelve.

"That's enough for today, Toshirou."

"Hmph. Sore loser."

"Did you say something?"

"You heard what I said." His voice had a smug tone to it. "Sore. Loser."

His eyes widened as he felt Ichigo's hand hovering over his armpits.

"Normally I'd make you beg for mercy, but since you're injured, I'll let you off." Ichigo said, a glint in his eyes. "With a poke."

He jabbed the captain in his underarm, causing the captain to jolt straight upwards with a cry of ticklishness.

"A-ah! Yamete! Kurosaki! Omai wa bokkorosu." He frantically grabbed hold of Ichigo's hands to stop any more attacks. "I'll burst my stitches."

"Whatever. I'm going downstairs for some water. You want some more Coke?"

"… fine."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to lighten up a bit." Ichigo pointed out. "You may think you're cool, distancing yourself from everyone, but keep at it, and one day I might make up my mind to melt that ice of yours, you little snowflake."

"Kurosaki, stop giving me names." The vein popped up in his temple. "Go get me a drink."

"Hai, _taichou._" Ichigo mocked, before heading out the door. "I'll be back soon, don't worry. If Karin or Yuzu come in, entertain them. If Kon comes in… well… do whatever you want with him."

The mod-soul, who was in the closet at that moment, lying over his beloved Nii-san's belongings, caught his words, and sobbed.

"So cruel…"

* * *

Moments later, while Hitsugaya was sucking eagerly on the straw that had been placed in the can of coke, Ichigo piped up.

"What do you think the Arrancars' main objective was, trying to assassinate you like that."

The boy looked up.

"To be honest, I'm not so sure they have ONE objective." He replied ominously. "The intruder in Soul Society, me being called down here, the Espadas turning up. It's all too…"

"… perfect." Ichigo finished for him. "What do you think they're trying to do?"

"Well, besides destroying Soul Society…" Hitsugaya spoke sarcastically. "… I can't really deduce much at the moment because I haven't got most of the detailed information on this incident, but all I can say is that I think our actions are being monitored very closely. The Espadas turned up after I left the communicator in your place. Aizen must have known about that. But how?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out the puzzle of it.

"Toshirou, I'm not a genius like you, but I can see that you're in dire need of a cleaning." Ichigo said. Hitsugaya looked down at his body, and realized that he was telling the truth.

There was dried blood on his skin; his own, and he obviously had been sweating throughout his slumber. He was all hot and bothered now because of that.

"Kurosaki, that's a really good idea, but I can't take a shower. Not in these bandages."

Ichigo grinned.

"Then it's very simple." He held up a cloth and a bucket of boiling water. "I'll just wipe you clean. Lie on your front!"

"Shikuso!"

* * *

Well, here we go, another uneventful chapter out of the way, hope you guys weren't too bored with that. More reviews appreciated Get's my juices flowing. (And No, not those juices.)

I promise next chapter will have some fighting in it!!


	3. Get On With The Backrub

There we go, hope it wasn't too long a wait. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Oww, not so hard, Kurosaki!" the white-haired boy complained. "You're going to rub me raw!"

"You're a captain. Deal with it." The reply was curt. "I'm sure that you've received worse injuries than these in the whole of your career as a squad commander of the Gotei Thirteen."

"Don't assume." The short captain turned and glared at him. "Even so, there's hardly any reason for me to feel more pain than I deserve, is there?"

"Sa na." (Who knows?) Ichigo grinned, and pressed down a little harder than he had intended to.

"AAH! Yamete! Are you trying to clean me or _kill_ me?"

Ichigo scratched his head.

"A bit of both, really."

"Kisama!"

"Okay, okay. Just hold still."

Ichigo rubbed the boy's bare back a little more gently now. It was amazing how much filth Hitsugaya had managed to accumulate over the past day. He had already gone through three clean towels, and this one was beginning to change colour as well. Hitsugaya sighed softly with relief. His bandages lay in a crumpled mess of gauze and cotton, and the only things protecting his wounds from the elements were cotton dressings protected by a kidou barrier, thanks to Unohana.

"Take a look at all the cloths I've gone through." He motioned to the formerly white towels on the floor. "That's all from _you. _And I haven't even done your front yet."

"Mm." The constant up down, up down motion was putting him to sleep, and fast.

"Oi, don't go sleep yet! I still need to clean your other side." Ichigo jabbed him lightly in his underarm. "Turn over."

"Don't do that." Hitsugaya said irritably. "It hurts every time I move, and you poking and prodding isn't helping at all."

"Urusai." He rolled the boy over, surprised at how light the gigai was. "Oh, come on."

He rolled his eyes. Hitsugaya had placed both hands over his bare torso, trying to hide whatever humility he retained.

"We're both guys here." He sighed. "And besides, it's not like I wanna see what you're trying to hide; I'm just trying to clean you up so you don't mess my bed up."

He tugged gently at the captain's arms. Hitsugaya resisted, frowning stubbornly at the yellow-haired teen.

"Toshirou, don't make me poke you again."

He relented, moving his arms to the side of his body reluctantly.

"It's Hitsugaya _taichou_…"

"There's a good boy." Ichigo ruffled his hair.

"Stop doing that! I'm not a kid." He snapped, making a feeble attempt to smack Ichigo's hand away.

"Then stop acting like one." The icy truthfulness of the words hit him hard. "Just relax."

For once, he obeyed this substitute shinigami's words, and closed his eyes. Ichigo tried to be as gentle as he could on Hitsugaya's wounded front. He soaked the cloth in the medicated water again, and lightly ran the cloth over whatever uncovered skin he could find on the boy's chest, marveling at how Unohana's barrier kept the water from soaking the dressing in a neat 1cm border around the gauze. Even when he was injured, Hitsugaya's shapely torso still caught Ichigo's attention, and he had to resist reaching out and stroking the boy's smooth white chest.

The captain sighed again as he felt the warm cloth swathe against his chest. Left, right, left, right, up, down, up down, splash, wring, rinse and repeat. Then came the cloth on his abdomen.

"Ugh…"

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

"I'll stop if you want."

"No… just make it quick."

"Alright."

"And… Kurosaki…"

"Hmm?"

"After this, could you… could you…"

"What is it?"

"Could you… maybe… rub my shoulders… not with the cloth… but… with your hands…?"

Hmm… this was unusual. Ichigo wondered…

"Why?"

"Teme, just say yes or no!"

"Alright, alright. No need to lose your temper. I just asked."

"If you must know, it's because I can feel the tension that's built up there from months of doing Matsumoto's paperwork, and from lying here for the better part of two days. There, satisfied?"

Teal eyes, narrowed with annoyance, glared up at him.

"Ah, wakata." Ichigo said, grinning. "Geez, you don't need to snipe at everything I say, you know. Take it easy."

His stomach was swiftly cleaned, and he winced with the pain. He heard Ichigo rinse the cloth again, and felt its rough texture against his neck, cleaning away the sweat that had dried there, leaving a refreshing sensation in its wake. Then, one final rinse, and it went over his face and ears, putting the grime and grit there at its mercy.

"Ah, finally." Ichigo stood up and went to the bathroom, dumping the dirty contents of the bucket into the toilet bowl. "My hands were starting to get tired."

"Kurosaki…"

"Ah, what is it?"

"… Arigato."

As expected, the yellow haired teen brushed it off.

"It's nothing."

He turned over onto his stomach, and rested face down on the pillow. He'd certainly felt better, but Kurosaki's ministrations had definitely improved living conditions for him. He turned his face to the left and looked out the window. The sun was setting over the plethora of rooftops that blocked the otherwise visible horizon. He wished he could go out to that little spot beside the highway that he found the last time he was here. The spot where Karin had found him, toying with his communicator, and 'invited' him to the soccer game.

"Hungry?" Ichigo's voice drowned his thoughts. He nodded.

"I'll go get you some food." He was carried to the armchair again, much to his annoyance. "We'll put those bandages on later."

"Kurosaki, can you…"

"… get you some Coke, yeah, I know." The teen was already out of the room. It was uncanny how he can almost read my thoughts, Hitsugaya thought. He reached out for Ichigo's iPod, scrutinizing the design that was too… white… for his liking.

'These humans have no fashion sense at all.' He deduced, turning it over in his palm. "Even someone from the Kurotsuchi's department could cook up a better looking thing than _this._"

Ichigo entered the room, clutching a bowl of beef udon in the crook of his elbow. He held a bowl of Miso soup in his left hand and a can of what was beginning to become Hitsugaya's favourite drink in the real world in his other hand.

"There you go." He placed the items on the table and pushed the armchair forward. "I'm going to get my own food. Feel free to dig in."

He went downstairs again, only to be confronted by an overly excitable Isshin.

"My son is taking care of another person, just like I taught him!" he sobbed. "I hope Hitsugaya-kun gets back at those bullies who beat him up when he was out the other day!"

"Urusai!" a well placed elbow sent Isshin flying in the general direction of the sofa. He brought his own food upstairs, and realized that Hitsugaya had not touched a single morsel of the meal that he had brought up for the little captain.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Beef not one of your favourites?"

"No… I don't know about the real world, but in Seireitei it's rude to eat without waiting for the host to eat first."

"Well, it's polite to wait for the other person here as well, but I don't really care for those customs." Ichigo pulled up his chair and sat beside Hitsugaya. "From now on, just dig in, with or without me."

"Baka. Just because I'm in your house doesn't give me the excuse to throw my manners away."

"Whatever. Just shut up and eat."

"Kisama." They ate in silence.

"Eh, Toshirou?"

"It's Hitsu…"

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, we're lucky it's the weekend, so I don't have to go to school. But when Monday comes, you'll be alone here with my father. He'll be a bit busy with the clinic, so you're essentially by yourself in this room. Is there anything you want to entertain yourself for the better part of the week?"

"Yes." The reply was so curt and confident that it took Ichigo aback. "I'd like to use the… internet."

Ichigo's jaw dropped.

"When did you learn about that? And where?"

Hitsugaya looked down, a very slight blush tingeing his cheeks.

"Matsumoto brings back magazines from the real world." He replied softly. "I don't usually read those boring things, but one article about this caught my attention."

Ichigo laughed, and the captain glared at him angrily.

"Don't look at me like that; I'm just surprised that you took the trouble to learn a little of what us humans have concocted in our brains of ours." He said. "I'll leave my laptop at home so you can use it to surf the web."

"Nani? What's surf? And what web are you talking about? There aren't any spiders in your computer are there?"

"Ugh… never mind."

"Ku-ro-sa-ki…"

"I'll teach you how to use it before I go to school on Monday. Just eat." He sighed. "Ugh… it's so hard to communicate with you sometimes."

"Kurosaki, just because I don't say much doesn't mean I don't have a mouth of my own."

"I know, I know, but maybe once in awhile you should… I dunno… open up a little?"

"… fine. What are we having for dinner tomorrow?"

"Yare yare, the first thing that comes out of your mouth is food."

"Damare! You told me to 'open up' so I did!"

"Ah, I suppose that's true. Even if all you can talk about is how you're going to freeload off of me."

"Teme… how do you open this thing anyway?"

"This 'thing' is called a can, and you open it by pulling that tab there." He held the can in his hand and pointed. "Careful, don't overexert yourself."

"Baka, Orihime's healing this afternoon has restored part of my strength." The captain looked closely at the metal contraption. "So… I put my fingernail underneath that and… pull?"

"Yes…" an exasperated Ichigo sighed as Hitsugaya gave it a cautious half-hearted flick, as if the can would explode if he applied any more force. "Pull harder."

The can opened with a satisfying Pschkkk sound.

"I trust you don't need a straw anymore?"

The captain answered the query by grabbing hold of the can and tipping its contents into his mouth.

"That's nice. Think you can walk to the bed yourself?"

"I can try."

"Just take it easy." Ichigo held Hitsugaya's forearm to support him as the boy tentatively put a foot on the floor.

"Whoops." Ichigo saved him from crumpling onto the floor in a broken heap. "Definitely _not _ready, then."

He carried the tendo to the bed, and laid him carefully on the covers. Hitsugaya turned onto his stomach, digging his hands under the pillow. Ahh, he could do with a good massage. Which reminded him…

"Kurosaki, could you…"

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't forgotten your little 'request' yet." Ichigo said. "Just let me get all the dirty plates downstairs."

He was back in an instant, or so it seemed, closing the door and locking it. Just in case. He didn't trust his father any more than Karin or Yuzu did.

"I have some baby lotion in the bathroom… if you want, I could…"

"… fine." A fine blush crept into his cheeks, and he buried his face into the pillow, glad that Kurosaki didn't have the ability to see through his head. "Just get on with it."

He gasped as the cold lotion was splattered onto his back, and bit his lip to stop from hissing as the cold sensation was spread around his angled shoulder blades as well as the rest of his back. Then, a tentative hand nervously brushed against the small of his back, tickling him.

He squirmed slightly.

"Toshirou, are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Just… get on with it." He repeated his sentence.

Ichigo gulped. He had been dying to touch this soft, virulent body for the past two days, and now that it was being openly offered to him, he was ever so hesitant. Why? Another nervous touch made Hitsugaya lose his patience.

"Kurosaki, just forget it. I never should have…"

"Wari."

He felt Ichigo's thumbs rubbing into his back, stimulating the nerves and the pressure points as well as releasing the tension that had built up there after literally _ages_ of sitting and doing paperwork. Ah, the bliss of it all! He tried not to groan. Too loudly.

"Ungh…"

Ichigo smiled. His thumbs ran over the smooth hot skin of the little captain beneath him. Rubbing over sinewy flesh that was both strong and soft at the same time brought a certain satisfaction and an edge to the exercise. Not to mention the moans and groans that accompanied it. God, this was priceless! He tentatively rubbed against the captain's spine, feeling the delicateness of the bone structure, and also the firmness of the back muscles surrounding it.

"Kurosaki… I don't… ugh… remember asking you… aargh… to rub my… aah… back."

"I'll move up to your shoulders if you want."

"No… that's fine. Move up when you're… ready." Hitsugaya squirmed and shifted under Ichigo's strong, callused fingers. "A-argh…"

Ichigo knew that Hitsugaya liked this massage. It probably felt like heaven to him, but knowing the little grump, it was unlikely he'd ever admit that. True enough, every touch that Ichigo laid on him felt like a tiny jolt of electricity, and his heart beat faster as the teen got more involved. To Hitsugaya's great surprise (and horror), he began to wonder what it would be like if both their bodies were touching each other. He wondered how he'd feel against Ichigo's larger and stronger body. He got even redder as he thought of what Ichigo would think of him if he ever did that. No… that would never work. A Gotei 13 Captain with a mere human? Never. He closed his eyes and tried to lose himself in the massage, and lose those thoughts.

After a lot of hard work, the white-haired boy's back was finally loosened, the ropes of tension dissolving into wiry muscle. Ichigo sighed, and moved up to the captain's shoulders. The accented shoulder blades filled his palm as he rubbed his thumbs into the meaty area of the boy's physique. The next half hour was spent freeing that area of the stress that bothered the little captain so much.

"Oi, Toshirou, you happy with that?" he said to the motionless body before him. "Eh, ano?"

Hitsugaya had fallen asleep… again. But it was a different sleep compared to the sleep nearly eight hours ago. Instead of restless twitching and turning plagued by jolts of pain, the captain slumbered peacefully, breaths coming out of his mouth in little sighs as he rested his relieved body. Inoue had really done her job. The sight of the exposed skin, with the pores visible as a result of the massage was more than the teenager could handle. Ichigo's heart melted slightly as he very gently caressed the boy's warm back, admiring the sticky-smooth sensation that was caused partly by the lotion and mostly by the cleaning earlier. For a captain with a bankai the size of a small airplane, who survived countless battles with the hollow, this body most certainly did _not _suit him at all. There was no sign of corruption by the forces of neither time nor the hollows' cruel weapons. It was a wonder why he didn't notice his own…

"Kurosakiiiiii…" Hitsugaya slurred, startling him.

"Yeah?"

"Turn me overrr…"

"Why?"

"Just do it. I sleep easier that way."

"Fine."

He gently rolled the captain over, bringing his wounded front into view. He gazed with regret at the white-haired boy's abused body. If only he had been there sooner…

"Kurosaki, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Ichigo was massaging the meaty area between the end of his neck and the start of his collarbone. "How does that feel?"

"You don't have to…"

"I know I don't have to." Ichigo smiled. "I _want _to."

"Mmh. It's your hands are that are going to get tired from all of this."

"Urusai. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"…"

Teal eyes gazed up at brown irises.

"Why are you… caring… so much for me?"

"Baka, do you even need to ask?" Ichigo replied. "Omai wa ore no nakama." (You are my friend.)

"But… I haven't done anything for you to be considered that high of a regard."

"It's not like I owe you anything, Toshirou." He said, ignoring the boy's frown. "You don't have to do anything drastic or dramatically life-changing to be considered a friend in my book. Just willing to be around me is a good enough reason for me."

"Kurosaki, I was ordered here by Yama…"

"But yet you agreed, and without argument. You could have said no, and asked for maybe Orihime's instead." Ichigo blindsided him. "After all, you've stayed there before, haven't you?"

Toshirou blinked. He hadn't really thought long and hard about Yamamoto's decision to send him to the Kurosaki household. It wasn't in his best interests to go against the sotaichou's orders anyway. He'd received enough ribbing from the Bount incident from the old geezer, and he wasn't going to provoke the wizened fart any more than he could.

"I guess so."

"What sort of reply is that? You guess so? You guess what?"

"Damare! Do your job and care for me, since that's what you're so eager to do."

Ichigo smiled at Hitsugaya's apparent inability to outwardly express his inner thoughts in words. He didn't need to continue the argument any more.

"Just try to go to sleep, okay?" he gently ran his hand through the white shock of hair. "Little snowflake."

"I thought I told you to stop giving names to me."

"Urusai."

* * *

The bleeping of the alarm clock jolted him rudely to consciousness. He sat up violently, eyes hastily scanning the room. That's when he felt the protest his body was giving him in the form of white-hot knives in his front. He fell back onto the bed with a moan.

The bedroom light was flipped on, and the boy shielded his eyes from it, groaning with protest. A shadow loomed over him, and he wondered who it was.

"Good Morning, Ichigooooo…" Isshin's voice was heard, followed by a thwack and a choke. "You have learnt well, my son."

"Bastard! What sort of an idiot father wakes his son by trying to murder him? It isn't even me on the bed!"

"Ahh… I see. Well, don't keep your sisters waiting!"

"Ah, wakata. Now get out of my room, oyaji."

The door slammed.

"And stay out!"

"Kurosaki, what was that?"

"That, Toshirou, is my father's wake up call." The yellow haired teen replied, walking into the bathroom. "You have to be very careful when you're around him, just so you know. Do you want me to turn the light off?"

"If it's not too much trouble." The reply came quietly.

The room was plunged back into darkness as the switch was flipped.

"So it's Monday…" Ichigo thought, as the warm water hit his body. "I'm probably going to meet Renji and Yumichika in school, and Renji's going to be… oh no… dressed in some weird clothing again. With those horrible sunglasses that he knows I'll smash on sight."

He rubbed the conditioner into his hair, thinking back to yesterday.

"Man, that brat." He smirked. "Something's definitely wrong with him. He probably needs someone important in his life. Someone whom he can open up to."

He applied soap to his hands, and began cleaning himself.

"Damn, now I'll have to teach him how to use the internet. And now I'm so not in the mood."

He emerged from the bathroom, carrying a hand towel and some moisturizer.

"Oi, Toshirou. Do you want to wash your face?"

"It's Hitsugaya _tai…_"

"Yeah, yeah. Here." He handed the damp towel to Hitsugaya. "Wet your face with that, and put the cream onto your face."

"What is this?"

"That's…" he struggled to find the word, and settled for "… face wash."

"Hmm…" he looked at the tube suspiciously. He glanced up at Ichigo, who had fished his laptop out of his schoolbag and who was now rummaging about for the adaptor.

He gently rubbed some of the cream onto his hands, and applied some onto his face. Hmm, this felt just like soap. Ack! It was going into his eyes!

"K-Kurosaki!" he managed to blurt out. "M-my eyes!"

"Baka, why didn't you close them when you put them on?"

"Water! Just get me some water!" Aah, it stung. Bad, very bad. "Hurry!"

"Goodness me…" Ichigo was back with a pail of warm water. "Here."

The captain plunged his head into the pail in panic, not caring in the least about his humility. The stinging sensation went away quickly, and with relief, he pulled his head out, not realizing his hair was drenched as well. The end result was his white locks plastered across his face, water dripping from the ends of them. He looked like a soaked puppy, and Ichigo could not help bursting out in laughter at the sight.

"Damare!" he yelled at the teen, temper flaring. "I'll… ugh!"

He was interrupted by a towel vigorously scrubbing his hair and drying his face. He tried to struggle against it, to no avail. Ichigo didn't stop until his hair was completely restored to its natural spiked up state.

"Teme…" he growled, as Ichigo removed the towel.

"Yeah, whatever." The heavy laptop was dumped onto his lap, and booted up.

"What is this?" This contraption resembled the screens that the Shinigami in the Technological Bureau looked upon while researching new developments.

"This is a computer." Ichigo replied. "You surf the internet on it."

The next ten minutes was spent teaching the little captain about the twists and bends of the laptop. Ichigo made sure that Hitsugaya knew what he was doing before he left the boy to his own devices.

"Do you want breakfast?"

"Yes." This was a change from the usual hesitation followed by a grudging 'fine', Ichigo noted. "Please."

"Okay, be right back." The teen exited the room.

Hitsugaya looked down at the laptop with curiosity. The fact that he knew how to use it now still didn't detach from the question of _how_ did it run, and _what_ _else _could one do with the machine on his lap. He looked at the time. Half past seven in the morning. Another half an hour before Kurosaki would leave for school. And he'd probably bring back Abarai and Ayasegawa, so he'd have a busy afternoon ahead of him, questioning them for their reports. He lay back on the sheets, and folded his arms above his head, closing his eyes. His shoulders, devoid of tension, stretched and contorted easily. Lying in bed all day, being fussed over and not having to do a single thing… he could live with this… if only Matsumoto did her paperwork. Then he'd have _some_ days like these in Seireitei instead of having to work days back to back while his lazy lieutenant slothed on the couch. Still, he felt a little guilty taking advantage of Ichigo, but that would have to do for now.

"You haven't fallen asleep again, have you?" A finger prodded his side softly.

"Stop…" he squirmed, grabbing the hand. "Where's my food?"

"On the table." He felt hands gripping him under his arms, and relaxed as Ichigo once again carried him over to the armchair.

As he ate, Ichigo changed into his school attire; the usual black sleeveless shirt underneath the white uniform. He slung his bag over his shoulder and sat down on the bed, watching Hitsugaya eat.

"What are you looking at?"

"What do you think?"

"Why?"

"Because who's going to carry you back to the bed once you finish eating? My father?" Ichigo mocked him.

"… Urusai."

"I'm bringing Renji, Ikkaku and that girly man back home today." Ichigo informed him. "Make sure you get enough rest, so that when they come you'll be in a fit state to question them."

"I know my duties as a taichou, Kurosaki."

"And also, remember to put this on." Ichigo patted the folded black polo shirt on the side-table. "I'm sure you want to appear presentable to your subordinates."

He ran a gentle hand through the captain's hair, displacing some of the albino strands. Instead of smacking the hand away, Hitsugaya squeezed his eyes shut, and leant into it, savouring the pleasure. Ichigo grinned.

"You finished with your food yet?"

"Ah."

"Okay, then." He was carried back to the bed again. "Are you alright for now?"

"… how much time do you have before you need to go?"

"About five minutes."

"Well…" he turned his head away from Ichigo to hide the blush. "I could do with another backrub."

He would do anything just to feel the teen's hands on him again.

"Five minutes? Are you sure that's enough time for…"

"Do you want to do it or not?"

Ichigo sighed.

"There we go again." He sat on the side of the bed as Hitsugaya glared at him. "Someone needs to control his temper if he wants things his way."

"Urusai." He rolled over onto his stomach. "Well?"

"Ah… hai, hai."

As he pressed into the captain's back, he noticed a crumpled parcel on the floor. It was Matsumoto's untouched present. He picked it up and placed it in front of Hitsugaya's eyes.

"You still haven't opened Rangiku-san's gift yet."

"Somehow…" the captain raised his eyebrow. "I don't think I want to."

"That's not very nice." Ichigo picked the present up again, causing the white-haired boy to groan in protest.

"Just get on with the backrub, Kurosaki." He snatched the present back. "I'll open it, if you're that curious."

He peeled open the wrappings, and to his surprise and horror, a bright blue schoolbag obviously made for elementary school students fell onto the bed, along with a note in Matsumoto's handwriting.

"Hello, Taichou! I went through your luggage yesterday, and I noticed that you've forgotten to bring your school uniform and stationery. So, I took the liberty of buying you a nice schoolbag as well as school uniform." A neatly folded school shirt dropped out of the bag then, in perfect timing.

Hitsugaya's eye twitched.

"Matsumoto…"

At least she didn't send him diapers or anything like that.

"Oh wait." Ichigo said, pointing to the note. "There's something else written there. 'P.S. Look inside the bag.' Hmm, I wonder what's in the bag."

Hitsugaya unzipped the hideous thing, and turned it upside down.

"Eh? There's nothing here." He held the bag above his head, and was duly surprised as a shower of crayons and candy dropped upon his head.

"… MATSUMOTO!!"

Ichigo knew when to keep quiet, and 'get on with the backrub' that time.

* * *

I sort of had fun writing this chapter. I thought it brought out Hitsugaya's "softer" side, although I doubt he'd ever want a backrub from Ichigo or even Matsumoto in the original Bleach. Yes, yes, before you tell me, I know. There wasn't really much development in the storyline over here, you say. Aye, that is true. I wanted to focus more on character development, making Hitsugaya the cold but eager for attention boy, and Ichigo the exasperated and patronising teenager that he really is.

I hope you enjoyed reading this little chapter, but I'm sorry to say that I will no longer be continuing this series. Just kidding.

My mom's come up to Manchester to spend a few weeks with me, so I'm putting this on hiatus until August. I'll try and type some of it up during my "holiday" so the wait won't be that long. Sorry if I scared you, haha. REVIEW PLIZZ. Keeps me going, these Rs do.


	4. The Rain

Guys, I'm so sorry for not updating. My mom came over and we spent most of the last 2 months on holiday just roaming the UK, and I've literally got back to Manchester 3 weeks ago and have had to do my exam resits as well as register for this year's courses. Again, please do read and review, and I hope you won't hold the delay against me... for too long.

* * *

"Matake…" Ichigo sighed, as he walked back, Renji, Yumichika and Madarame in his wake. "Why do you guys always have to cause so much trouble in school?"

"Nani?" Renji taunted, walking in line with him. "I just don't see why such a thing as_ homework _exists."

Ichigo stared for a bit, trying to remind himself that all of these people dressed in school uniforms were actually from a different world.

"Next time, just don't say anything." He replied. "The less you're noticed in school, the less attention you'll get, not that you need less homework." He sniggered.

"What did you say?" Renji's nose pressed against his as the redhead stared menacingly at him.

Ichigo gazed back, a widely stretched grin on his face.

"You heard me. You could do with more homework. Maybe that would shut you up for a bit."

"Teme!"

"There we go, fighting again." Yumichika sighed. "That's not very beautiful."

The bald headed man beside him with a bokutou (wooden sword) attached to his waistband chose to ignore the comment. They watched as the pair quibbled all the way back to the Kurosaki clinic.

"Oh, by the way." Ichigo turned round. "Have you guys found a place to stay yet?"

"Ah, same old, same old." Yumichika and Ikkaku replied. "We're going to go back to Keigo's apartment and crash there for a bit."

"My things are already in Urahara's place." Renji said offhandedly. "By the way, we've arrived."

"At last." Ikkaku sighed. "I was beginning to wonder if there was any end to your never-ending squabbles about absolutely nothing at all in particular."

"How is taichou, by the way?" Yumichika asked. "We heard the reports, and apparently he's really badly injured."

"Well, you heard right." Ichigo said. "Even Orihime couldn't heal him properly, and she's usually top-notch in her field."

"Sounds pretty bad to me."

"You got that right."

"Yeah well…" Ichigo pushed the door open. "Just go upstairs while I distract Yuzu."

As he traipsed to the kitchen with the objective of starting small chat with his younger sister, the three Shinigami crept upstairs to the second floor.

"Where's Kurosaki's room?"

"How should I know? I've always climbed in through the window."

"Sou ka?"

"It's this way." A prepubescent voice summoned them from the door on the right.

They pushed it open and found a irritated Hitsugaya sitting up on Ichigo's bed, arms crossed across his chest and a strange looking contraption resembling a square-shaped clam at his side.

"Ah, taichou. How did you know we were here?"

"With the racket you were making, I'm surprised you didn't attract the attention of the whole household."

"Ah, that's because Ichigo's taking care of it downstairs."

"Whatever."

"We've been sent down as reinforcements in case anymore Arrancar turn up. What are your orders?" Yumichika cut down to business.

"Inform Yasutora Sado, Orihime Inoue and the Quincy of your presence as soon as possible and take shifts patrolling areas of known appearances. Report any incidents to _me_ as soon as they occur. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"We heard about what happened, taichou. Is everything alright?" Yumichika asked.

It was unusual to see Hitsugaya so relaxed. As a matter of fact, it was the first time he had seen the little captain reclining on a bed! Every time he went down to the tenth division for whatever matters plagued him, the white haired boy was always poring over paperwork, leaving Matsumoto to deal with him, which she did. In a very boisterous manner.

"Of course I'm alright." Hitsugaya said. "You didn't think one single Espada could put me down for the count, did you?"

Madarame's retort was interrupted luckily by the room door opening, revealing an orange head.

"Ah, I see you've managed to find my room." Ichigo shut the door behind him as he entered. "Here."

He threw cans of various soft drinks at his guests, and they caught them neatly. Judging by the nonchalant and expert way each of them opened the cans, he knew that Yamamoto had made the right choice sending these three down to the real world. Their experience here was an invaluable asset in blending into the environment. But wait a minute, where was _his_ drink?

"Kurosaki, what about me?"

Ichigo frowned.

"Well, hello to you too." He went over to the armchair and threw himself upon it. Seeing the slightly disappointed look in Hitsugaya's face, he grinned. "Don't be so downcast. Of course I brought you your most favourite drink."

He produced the can from his trouser pocket and threw it over to the boy, who caught it deftly in one hand.

"By the way, you shouldn't drink too much of that stuff." He advised. "It's not too healthy."

"I'm well aware of the hazards that come with eating earth food." The white haired boy replied. "I've experienced a little too much of someone's cooking."

Immediately everyone knew that he was referring to Inoue's strange culinary habits with bean paste.

"I think I know what you mean. That's why Rangiku-san always insisted on takeaway instead of home-cooked food." Ikkaku said.

"Anyway, you have your orders." Hitsugaya said. "Why are you still here?"

"Okay, okay, break time's over." Ikkaku said, throwing his empty can into the bin. "Ikuzo! Ja ne, Ichigo."

"Oh, and Matsumoto told me to bring this to you." Renji produced a stack of paperwork from his backpack and placed it on Ichigo's study table. "She said this would entertain you, and I totally believe her."

The three of them leapt out the window and were gone in a flash before the captain could cast a kidou spell on them. Hitsugaya sighed. This injury was irritatingly debilitating, to say the least. He wished he could go with them, but…

"So!" Ichigo interrupted his thoughts. "How was your day at home?"

"Boring."

"But you had the internet. Surely you made use of its full extent?"

"The only thing the internet would be useful in Seireitei would be for the transferring of paperwork through divisions." The boy replied. "Also, a keyboard would make sure that the work was done faster and properly. Matsumoto would love this, not."

He added grimly.

"Glad you had fun."

"And also…" he hesitated, looking down. Man, was this embarrassing.

"What?"

"I need to use the bathroom." He said softly. "No, not for a bath, but for…"

"Ah, wakata." Ichigo said. How was he to deal with this? Would bringing a bucket out of the toilet and asking Hitsugaya to do his business in it be the solution? Hardly appropriate. Not to mention disgusting, if he had to go for a big one. The only other thing that was available in his list was…

"Okay, I'm going to carry you to the toilet bowl, and then I'm going to let you do your thing." He held up a hand as the boy protested. "That's the only way, unless you want me to ask my father to bring you a bedpan."

Hitsugaya gave up. There was no way out of this.

"Okay." He sighed.

"Good." He was lifted gently and carried over to the toilet. "Ouch!"

He was dumped unceremoniously onto the toilet seat, and as he looked up, he witnessed Ichigo beating a hasty retreat.

"Baka!" he yelled. "I still need you to help me pull my trousers down!"

He went red as he realized the extent, and more importantly, the volume of what he had just stated. The door opened again roughly. Oh great, this had to be Isshin, or worse, Karin.

"It's not what you think." The first thing that came out of his mouth was wasted on Ichigo, as the teen stepped back into the bathroom, cheesy grin on his face.

"I wanted to see what you would do if I just left you sitting there."

"Kurosaki! Teme!"

"Okay, okay." The teen held up his hands as approached the helpless captain.

How was he to do this? He most certainly wasn't going to pull down the boy's trousers for him, but Hitsugaya was entirely helpless. Unless…

"Okay. I'm going to lift you up by your hip."

"How is that supposed to help me?"

"You idiot. Pull down your trousers while you're in the air." Ichigo replied. "And don't worry, I won't look."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just pull my trousers down for me?"

"Pardon me, but I don't want a face full of Little Toshirou."

"Kisama!" he felt hands gripping the meaty area above his hipbone, and grunted as he was lifted a few centimeters into the air. He hastened to pull down his trousers.

"Okay, I'll be waiting outside." Ichigo sauntered out of the room. "Make sure you pull your underwear up before I come in."

After much grumbling and incident, Hitsugaya was carried to the sink, where he washed up, and then carried to the armchair, where he was gently set down.

"I didn't even realize you guys even WENT to the bathroom."

"Shut up. I'm in a gigai, remember?"

"Yeah, whatever. Hungry?"

"You know the answer to that."

"Ah, alright, alright."

Ichigo exited the room and reappeared seconds later with two plates of fried rice.

"Nanda kore wa?"

"It's fried rice, made by Yuzu." Ichigo replied, setting the plates on the table. "Don't look at me like that. She wanted to try something new. A Chinese recipe, she said."

The snowy boy tentatively put a small spoonful into his mouth. It was delicious.

"Looks like you enjoy my sister's cooking." Ichigo laughed, as he watched Hitsugaya shoveling the food into his mouth. "I guess eating too much of Orihime's food has made you a little paranoid, huh?"

"Mm…" the tendo was far too lost into the food to pay any attention to Ichigo. He was like that sometimes with Hinamori, especially if he was eating watermelons.

Soon, the meal was finished, and Ichigo cleared the table. Hitsugaya sighed, and decided he would start on his paperwork. Having his problems brought down to the real world was definitely not in his list of interesting events. He pulled off his shirt impatiently as the hateful afternoon heat got to him. Damn summer! A season of hell! Too bad he couldn't make the temperature drop with his reiatsu; he was far too injured for that.

Damn that Kurosaki, he thought. What was taking so long? The teen had disappeared downstairs with the dishes, and now appeared to be washing them. But even so, it couldn't take that long, could it? Fifteen minutes passed, and he was on his twentieth sheet of paperwork. The sweltering heat from the sun made him sweat even more than he did before, and sweat droplets pooled on his bare shoulders and back. He was on the brink of insanity, and was about to rip his hair out in frustration, but was interrupted by Ichigo coming into the room.

"Wow, someone's not too fond of the weather today." He commented, looking at Hitsugaya's sweaty body. Seeing the boy's shapely torso shining with the fluid made his heart leap slightly with lust. "What's the matter, the paperwork getting the better of you?"

"Shut up. I'm boiling here." The captain leant back into the armchair, feeling the unpleasant texture of hot leather. "Do something!"

A beep was heard, and then cold air blew onto his overheating body. He looked around. Where was this coming from? Surely Kurosaki hadn't become so powerful he could control the weather? The source of this coolness was a rectangular box perched high on the wall.

"Kurosaki, what's that?"

The teen laughed.

"Baka. It's an air conditioner." Seeing the intrigued look on Hitsugaya's face he continued. "It blows cold air out so that I don't get too hot in the summer."

"Why didn't you turn it on before?"

"I didn't want to waste electricity." Ichigo grinned. "I'm not running up the power bill for a little brat like you."

"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!"

"Whatever." He said, ignoring the sneer on Hitsugaya's face. "You have to learn to lighten up a bit, Toshirou. The world's a much less cynical place than you imagine it to be."

"Urusai." He turned back to his paperwork, sordidly filling in the forms with kanji.

The orange haired teenager shut the window and drew the curtains, reducing as much heat as possible. He came over to Hitsugaya and looked over his shoulder.

"There, is that cold enough for your liking?"

"It's… sufficient."

"Good."

Ichigo threw himself onto his bed and closed his eyes. Wow, these past two days were an absolute nightmare! Dealing with an irritable not to mention injured Gotei-13 captain, all that homework from school, the prospect of an Arrancar invasion, the meeting with the Espadas… he liked all the action, but sometimes he couldn't help wishing for some peace and quiet, just like before he got involved with Kuchiki Rukia and all this Soul Society nonsense. It was a few hours of insight and thought followed by an idle reading of a comic when he noticed Hitsugaya had become extremely quiet. There was no more swishing of the paintbrush against the parchment.

"Kurosaki, I've run out of ink."

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, get me some more then."

"What do you think I am, one of your division servants?! Go get it yourself!" Ichigo snapped, knowing full well that Hitsugaya wasn't physically able to, but still wanting him to ask nicely anyway.

"Baka. Why do you think I'm asking you to do this in the first place?"

"Well then maybe you can ask in a better tone?"

Hitsugaya sighed. How he hated being dependent on someone else.

"Kurosaki, could you possibly run down to any nearby shops and grab me an inkwell?"

"Magic word?"

"Magic word?" Hitsugaya echoed, not too familiar with the term. "What magic word? What happens if I say it?"

"Ah, forget it." Ichigo opened the first drawer on his desk and rummaged through it, eventually finding a new inkwell. "There!"

He placed it on the table, beside the captain's paintbrush. As Hitsugaya made to grab the inkwell, he accidentally knocked over a stack of paperwork, and in his haste to correct it he brushed against the inkwell, causing it to tip. Ichigo noticed this, and grabbed the inkwell at about the same time Hitsugaya did, which resulted in both their hands touching. A jolt of electricity shot through both of them, as they stared at the contact. Ichigo once again revered the smooth and soft texture of the captain's hand, while Hitsugaya reveled in the warm, rough contact of the teen's palm.

"My mistake." Ichigo withdrew his hand, and went back to his bed. As natural as it came. Hitsugaya stared at the clutter on the table, stared at the inkwell, and finally stared at Ichigo on the bed.

"It's okay. I was about to finish anyway." He got out of the armchair, forgetting that he was in no shape to get to the bed. Which resulted in Ichigo catching him under the arms just as he collapsed onto the floor with his rubbery legs.

"Whoops. Not again." He was carried over to the bed and placed on it, where he scooted up to one of Ichigo's pillows, burying his face in it, trying to hide his embarrassed blush.

"I'll clean you up." Ichigo offered, and returned with the familiar bucket of lukewarm water and the cloth.

* * *

This time, Hitsugaya didn't produce as much filth as Ichigo had expected, and the teen also noticed that the white haired boy didn't try to cover himself up when he was flipped over onto his back. Finally, Ichigo declared himself satisfied, and drained the water away in the sink.

"Hmm, what now?" Ichigo said, staring at the captain's bare torso, now devoid of bandages. "Don't tell me you want another backrub."

Silence. And a bit of shifting by an embarrassed white haired boy.

"Yare yare, so you really DO want another backrub." Ichigo sighed, as he reached for the bottle of lotion.

"Uru… Ahhh!" he was cut off as the cold liquid was spread around his back. "Kisama! Next time warm it up or something. Baka."

"Haa? Warm it up?" The disdain was teeming in Ichigo's voice. "Since when did such a frosty captain want something that was _warm_?"

"Teme…" he tried to find something to shoot back at Ichigo, but was once again interrupted by the teen's hands rubbing into his back. He couldn't help letting out a little sigh of relief as the pressure that was built up by paperwork was eased.

"Unghh…"

"Hm."

"Don't… ever tell… anyone… about this." The boy hissed out. "I've got my reputation to hold up, and my subordinates can't know any weaknesses that I possess."

"Toshirou, liking a massage isn't a weakness." Ichigo sighed, easing out knotted fibres in the boy's shoulder. "Maybe you should ask Matsumoto to do this if you like it so much."

"Never!" the boy spat in horror. "Matsumoto massaging me?! I'd be the laughing stock of all of the thirteen squads!"

"Then what's so different from me massaging you here?"

"It's… it's… you know that's different! First of all, you don't live in Soul Society. Secondly, your hands are more…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"More what?"

Silence. Ichigo frowned, and pressed down hard onto Hitsugaya's shoulder.

"Argh!" the boy groaned, shifting in his place. "Just forget I said anything, Kurosaki!"

"Toshirou, is there something you want to tell me?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, first of all, you turn up at my place without warning, and then decide to sleep in my bed. Then, you go and get yourself hurt, and expect me to treat you like some sort of a child. Then the back massages. Then the pampering."

"Kurosaki, since when did I say I wanted to be pampered by…"

"Ooh, Ichigo, get me some Coke! Could you give me a backrub?" Ichigo replied, grinning mischievously.

"I… I was thirsty, okay?!" the captain sniped back, unable to stop his face going extremely red. He made no mention about the backrub, which Ichigo duly noted. "If you don't like doing it, don't!"

"I never said I didn't like doing it. Baka." Ichigo replied, ignoring the boy's remark and rubbing his back gently. "I was just curious."

"Then don't complain." He rested his head on his arms, thoroughly getting into the massage. "And just get on with it. I'm not going to be injured forever, you know. Give it a couple more weeks and I'll be ready to resume normal duties."

"Yeah…" To be honest, Ichigo _didn't _want the captain to ever heal. Especially if this meant that he would eventually stop laying his hands on this fine specimen of soft skin.

"Baka." Hitsugaya shifted onto his back, exposing his front to Ichigo. "I didn't say that I wouldn't want backrubs once I was better."

"Ah." A sense of relief rushed into Ichigo, and he gratefully dug into Hitsugaya's stomach, easing out the muscles. "So you DO like these backrubs then."

The captain shifted again, averting his teal eyes from Ichigo's brown ones.

"It's nothing worth mentioning."

It started to rain, drops pattering down upon the roof. Hitsugaya sighed. He liked the rain; the sound it made when it hit the tiled roofs of his office. It always put him at ease, and now was no different. He relaxed inwardly as Ichigo continued to rub his front, making him long for more contact with the teen. It was strange, these feelings he was having. He wondered why, and how he could possibly even want to be with a mere human.

Ichigo, on the other hand, admired the boy's muscular physique. The little six-pack his abdomen formed; the half-developed pecs that ended with small pink nipples… all of this appealed to him very much as he stroked and rubbed the boy's torso.

"You know… this reminds me of the time where Ishida and I found you lying facedown on the dirt, uttering swear words not too long ago." Ichigo grinned. "That's when you were trying to find that Kusaka fellow. Only that you weren't too fetching to my accommodation then."

"You know very well why I had to leave." Hitsugaya responded. "It's not like I wanted to drag everyone else into my affairs."

"Oh no, don't go into that again." Ichigo sighed. "Always trying to suffer alone. I thought we talked about that at the end of it all, where you very kindly informed me to stop calling you Toshiro. Trust your nakama."

"What was then was then." Hitsugaya squirmed. "You don't really think I'm that same person, do you?"

"Well, you're as haughty and untouchable as ever." Ichigo replied. "Not to mention still irritable and snappy."

"Alright, enough with the compliments already." Finally, a faint hint of sarcasm. "I know what a 'great' person I am, so will you just shut up about it? It's not very nice knowing the truth about yourself and having it rubbed in."

"Maybe you should do something about it." Ichigo said, matter-of-factly. This earned him a scowl from the boy.

"Forget it. It's not like you'd be able to understand anyway."

"Come on, that's not fair." Ichigo protested. "You haven't even given me a chance yet. Try me. I might just yet surprise you."

The boy sighed. Humans could be so complicated sometimes. Very well, he would give it a go.

"Have you ever thought about I feel? Being the shortest amongst the captains and perhaps even the shortest seated officer in the whole of Seireitei?"

"Well, not really, no." Ichigo replied honestly. "To me, you always seem so… I dunno… not bothered by it. No one makes fun of you because of it anyway, so why should it matter?"

"Kurosaki, that's not the point." Hitsugaya said grumpily. "They think I don't notice, but I see their stares. Their whispers. Their glances. It hurts, you know. Sometimes the only person I can trust is Matsumoto. After all, she's the one who brought me into this whole mess of being a shinigami in the first place. And also…"

"Since when did you care about these little things? You're a captain, for god's sake." Ichigo replied, exasperatedly. "If anyone doubts you, I'm sure the rest of your colleagues would stand up for you. Hell, I certainly would. If I was a captain."

"...Really?"

"Of course! I reckon Ukitake-san and Rangiku-san would stand by you till eternity."

"No, I meant… would _you_… stand up for me?" Hitsugaya asked quietly. He stared up into Ichigo's eyes for a moment.

"Without a shadow of a doubt." Ichigo responded immediately. "I don't go back on my words, and I do think that you're a decent person."

"… thanks." It wasn't often Hitsugaya showed weakness, and Ichigo appreciated this. He didn't take advantage of the situation, though.

"Although you look and sound like Yamamoto trapped inside a fourteen year old boy."

"Urusai."

"No, seriously! You're sharper than most in intellect, and your Zanpakutou is the most powerful ice one there is. You judge things far more in clarity than most people as well." Ichigo replied. "And on top of that, you've managed to become a _captain_ at such an age."

"What makes you think I'm fourteen years old? My looks?"

"I never said that. But you _are_ the youngest captain Soul Society ever employed. I suppose some humility must come from that."

"I don't let it get to my head."

"How long have you been in charge of the tenth squad? Hundreds of years?"

"Okay, that's pushing it a little. I may be no kid, but I'm no old man either."

Ichigo laughed. The very being that Hitsugaya was defending himself against being called "old" was a bit too much to handle at once.

"Do you see yourself growing in the future?"

"No, and what's with all these questions? It's like some sort of an interrogation or something." The captain huffed, as he squirmed in response to Ichigo's caresses.

"Just curious, that's all." Ichigo replied. "When Rukia was here I absolutely _decimated _her with my questions. You should be thankful that I'm not unfamiliar with Soul Society as a whole. Besides, it's not every day a captain comes and spends some time with me."

"… I see."

"What were you saying about my hands earlier?" at that, the captain shifted, obviously ruffled by the question.

"I meant… that… they were… very useful for getting me things." Hitsugaya tried to materialize a logical response.

"Liar." Ichigo laughed. "What's the matter with you? I'm not going to feel offended if you tell me the truth. You think my hands are soft, is that it?"

"Not really." The white-haired captain replied, a slight smile forming on the corner of his mouth. "They're rough and callused, in my opinion."

"Right…" Ichigo mentally scratched his head. What was the boy getting at?

"But, I like them because they… the rough texture feels… better…. Against my skin." The captain continued, a faint tinge of red marring his features.

"I don't think that's anything to be ashamed about." Ichigo said nonchalantly. He could tell that this took a great deal out of Hitsugaya to admit.

"Well if you think about what other people might say about that, especially with me being a captain and all, then perhaps you'd understand why I'm so reluctant to express myself. I think Byakuya and I have something in common in that aspect.

"NANI?! That stuck-up pig of a noble?" Ichigo exclaimed. "I swear he wouldn't even tell you what his favourite colour was even under threat of torture!"

Hitsugaya chuckled, something which was starting to lose its rarity.

"I'm beginning to like it down here." He said softly. "No one judges you here based on who you are. I can do anything I like here, and people will just think I'm a kid having some fun."

"Ahh, souka?" Ichigo grinned evilly. "Is that what you want to be known by? A kid? Because I can make that happen. Very easily. All I have to do is speak to the right people in Soul Society…"

"Don't you dare."

Ichigo was about to reply when there was a knocking on the window. Hitsugaya gave a great start and pulled the covers over himself just as Ichigo opened the curtains and let in a grinning Renji.

"Oi, Ichigo."

"What is it?"

"I just came to collect the paperwork to bring back to Matsumoto." He caught sight of a seemingly asleep Hitsugaya. "I never realized Hitsugaya taichou slept so soundly."

"Well, he snores sometimes, but I have a handy pillow available right here." Ichigo grinned back.

"Yeah, wait till he finds out that Matsumoto did absolutely bugger all today because all her paperwork was slotted in with Hitsugaya taichou's." Renji replied cunningly. "I bet he's going to have a right fit when he wakes up tomorrow and finds it missing."

"TEME!" Suddenly Hitsugaya was awake, and was shooting daggers at Renji, who cowered toward the windowsill. "I bet you were in on that as well, Abarai!"

"Err… I have to finish my rounds, taichou. Bye." Renji shunpoed out the window before Hitsugaya had a chance to vent his rage.

"Damn that Matsumoto." He said in a huff. "And how could I sleep at such an early time? It's barely nine o clock!"

"I suppose." Ichigo said, closing the window and sitting on the bed again. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, what I'd like to do is go out onto the roof, but I can't."

"I can easily carry you up there."

"And be the beacon of Karakura town? I don't think so."

"Well, what if we come out in our Shinigami forms, and I simply lift you up there?" Ichigo provided a solution. "Renji and his gang are out patrolling, and they won't come here because they know I'm here."

"I don't know… sounds too risky to me."

"Oh come on, you know you want to."

"…fine."

He swallowed the pill which contained the modsoul and appeared in his Shinigami form, while Ichigo rummaged for Kon and did the same thing.

"You don't need that, by the way." Ichigo pointed at Hyourinmaru, still attached to Hitsugaya.

"Yeah."

He took it off and placed it next to Zangetsu, on the bed. Ichigo scrounged about for an umbrella in his closet while Hitsugaya sat with his arms crossed, waiting. Then, he was gently lifted in Ichigo's arms.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

He was brought up onto the roof, and placed gently on the wet tiles, losing balance immediately and panicking.

"Kurosaki… help!" he was slipping off the roof! "I'm falling…"

A hand very easily caught the collar of his kimono and lifted him up again. He felt a sudden warmth and softness as he was placed on Ichigo's lap.

"Kurosaki, what's the meaning of this?"

"If you wanna fall down again, feel free to sit by yourself there."

He didn't argue, settling down and watching the moon, like he always did alone. For a while, they didn't say anything to each other and sat quietly, pondering deep thoughts. With each passing minute, Hitsugaya became more and more attracted to everything about Ichigo. His scent, the warmness of his muscular body, the minty breath that he could smell every few seconds as Ichigo exhaled onto his hair. He reckoned that if he leant back very, very slowly, Ichigo wouldn't notice. So that was what he did. Inch by inch, he brought his back closer to Ichigo's chest, willing himself not to be too impatient. Of course, he had the perfect excuse (with a disdainful comment) should the teenager actually notice.

But nothing happened, and he soon felt himself leaning against the gently rising and falling chest of the tall teenager. The warmth comforted him to no end, and he felt safer than he ever did before, in the clutch of the substitute Shinigami. Ichigo, on the other hand, knew exactly what the devious little captain was up to as soon he felt the tickle of the captain's hair against his chin. He smiled, and gave the boy more space to lean on.

"I think tomorrow we can go to town." Ichigo said cautiously, trying not to wind the captain up. "I know, you're not going to like it, but sitting on my shoulders isn't such a bad thing after all. I mean… Hanatarou's hitched a ride, and that kid Shuu Kanogi as well. People are just going to think you're my little brother or a well known friend."

"Kurosaki, I do not approve of this." Hitsugaya stiffened. "They're going to think I'm some sort of _kid_ or something."

"Well, what did you expect?" Kurosaki replied, a slight smile on his face. "What else are they going to think of you?"

"What if we bump into Renji and the rest?"

Ichigo scratched his head, thinking of a solution.

"I know." He said finally. "We tell them that we're patrolling the city centre, and that there's no need for their presence there."

"I dunno…"

"Oh come on." Ichigo said, rubbing the boy's neck. It always seemed to put the captain at rest, so he did it. "It'll be fun, I promise."

"We'll see." Hitsugaya would not say any more about it, but simply sat and watched the rain patter down around them and enjoyed the sound of the water hitting the umbrella that was wedged in-between roof tiles. "Keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"You know what." The boy snapped back. "Don't make me say it."

He meant the shoulder-massage, obviously. Ichigo of course knew this, but there came a certain satisfaction from teasing the little captain, and he took full advantage of it. He slipped his hands under Hitsugaya's shikatshou at the shoulders and rubbed the boy's bare skin, to no objections at all. If anything, the boy became calmer and more relaxed as he leaned back even more onto Ichigo, his white head now resting on the base of the teenager's neck.

"Getting comfortable?" Ichigo's words made him start slightly as he finally realized that Ichigo had noticed all along. He jerked forward quickly, almost losing his balance.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said haughtily, trying to play it off, although he knew very well that Ichigo was impervious to these sorts of games.

The yellow haired teen laughed softly. He patted Hitsugaya on the back gently as he folded up the umbrella and hooked his arm round it.

"Let's go back in." he said, picking Hitsugaya up again. "We can enjoy the weather inside my dry room."

The rain was increasing in volume, and it looked as if a thunderstorm was on its way. Hitsugaya was placed on the bed again, and Ichigo helped him get back into his gigai before forcing Kon out and reclaiming his own body.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed." Hitsugaya said, as he made himself comfortable in Ichigo's sheets. "That paperwork… really… took the steam out of me."

Ichigo turned the lights out, and closed the window before going back to the bed and sitting upon it. Hitsugaya looked at him sleepily, albeit curiously.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just thought you'd like…" he tentatively stretched out a hand and ran it through the captain's silky white hair. "…this."

Hitsugaya sighed, and closed his eyes as he reveled in the contact. It wasn't long before long breaths signified that he was moving into the REM phase of sleep. Ichigo grinned to himself as he lay on the futon. He wondered what it would look like; such a haughty captain sitting on his shoulders in the middle of town. This would be priceless. Hitsugaya shifted slightly in his sleep and moaned softly. It didn't take a trained dog to hear what was being uttered in his sleep.

"Ungh… Kurosakiiii…"

* * *

The next chapter will have a little more action as well as comedy. Next few weeks, though, it'll take. Reviews and criticisms always appreciated and taking into context.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"It's seven o clock in the morning, do you want to get up?" he felt Ichigo's hand gently shake his shoulder. He groaned, and tucked his head into the covers.

"Five minutessss…" he slurred, not ready to face the real world yet. He wondered why he was always so sleepy in the real world. It was probably because he never got the opportunity to rest in Soul Society, and also because the gigai needed rest as well, however bizarre that sounded.

"Right, I'm going to take my shower, and come back again." Ichigo replied, stroking the captain's hair. "If you don't want to get up, that's absolutely alright. I'll get my father to stay out of this room while I go to school."

"Mmph…"

"Okay, be right back." He felt the orange-haired teen's presence fade, and decided to try and rouse himself by rolling onto his back.

He had had the weirdest of dreams yesterday. In one of his quirky dreams, Ichigo was a woman with orange hair, and had come on to him in an overbearing manner, and he had run away in horror. But Ichigo's shunpo was always faster than his, and it was a game of cat and mouse trying to avoid her. The other was a little more pleasant. He dreamt that he was slowly sinking in an icy cold lake, and there was nothing he could do about it. A hand had grasped his, and he had squinted to see who it was, and realized that it was Ichigo himself who had come to save him.

He mentally shook himself; those dreams were as vivid as they came. He could almost see the plains of ice in front of his eyes as he stared at the ceiling. He looked down at his body, and with a thrill, saw that his wounds were healing nicely. Although it would be a few more weeks before Yamamoto would officially give consent to his return to active duty. He lay there, just thinking for the next few minutes.

Presently, Ichigo exited the shower, and made his way over to the reclining boy.

"Awake, I see."

Hitsugaya nodded.

"Okay, would you like breakfast now?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright then, hang on." He wasn't very talkative today, Ichigo noticed, as he descended the stairs. He wondered what the white haired kid was up to as he fried sausages and boiled eggs.

"Here you go." He placed the food in front of Hitsugaya, after carrying him over to the armchair.

"… thanks." The boy dug in wordlessly. Ichigo raised an eyebrow in curiosity but waited till the captain finished his food. As soon as Hitsugaya consumed the last morsel and leaned back against the armchair Ichigo struck.

"Toshirou?"

"It's Captain Hitsugaya to you."

"Are you alright?"

"If you must know, I'm perfectly well, thanks."

"Because you're acting quite strange today."

"Ridiculous. Nothing is going on as far as I can tell."

"Toshirou, you know you can tell me whatever's bothering you." He placed a hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder.

The boy stiffened, and slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" he said sharply, glaring at Ichigo.

"What's going on, Toshirou? Did something happen while I was asleep?"

"No, nothing happened. I just don't like being touched." He lied. "And leave me alone, you idiot. It's Captain Hitsugaya as well, I keep reminding you."

Ichigo stared at him curiously. What had caused this sudden change of attitude? It was as if the past few days didn't happen and Hitsugaya had just arrived in his house, with the haughty attitude. He decided that perhaps Hitsugaya was in a bad mood, and just wanted to be left alone. He couldn't have guessed more wrongly. Truth was, Hitsugaya was feeling very guilty about his emotions toward Ichigo, and had decided on his part to be as nasty as possible to the teen in order to minimize the chances of anything happening between both of them. He couldn't risk anyone in Soul Society finding out.

"Okay." Ichigo said, as he took the dirty crockery down. "I'm going to school now, see you when I get back."

"Just get lost."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he left for school. This was out of the ordinary. What a short-tempered kid! Not to mention childish as well. He wondered what was up with the captain as he made his way to school. As he passed the gates, he suddenly noticed that Yumichika, Renji and Ikkaku were right beside him, matching his pace silently.

"Hey."

"How was patrol yesterday?"

"Well, nothing much happened." Renji admitted. "Pretty boring, but we did meet some afro Shinigami who thought he owned the town. We set him straight." He added as an afterthought.

"How's Captain Hitsugaya?"

Ichigo scratched his head.

"Well… he's a little strange today." He replied. "He's snapped at me the whole morning and found little faults at what I do. I wonder what's up with him."

"Maybe he's just a little upset that he can't come out." Yumichika suggested. "Perhaps you should bring him to the place where he usually watches the beautiful sun setting."

"Hmm… I don't know." Ichigo scratched his head. "I'll go speak to Matsumoto about it."

He waited till they were all settled in class and secretly popped Kon into his mouth before sending off a hell butterfly to Matsumoto. He was sure it was nothing serious, but being Hitsugaya's lieutenant, surely she had a right to know what was going on, especially if her little captain was unhappy about something. He told her that Hitsugaya was not feeling himself, and that she should probably go talk to him.

He received a reply immediately. Matsumoto would hold off paperwork ("Anything to get out of paperwork…" Ikkakku muttered when he was told her reply) and head over to the Kurosaki household while Ichigo was out and speak to her captain. Relieved for awhile, Ichigo sat back and tried to pay attention to the rest of the day's lessons.

"Kurosaki, is something going on?" Ishida whispered to him out of the corner of his mouth. The Quincy had of course finished all his homework, had a wealth of knowledge and therefore didn't really need to devote his concentration to the teacher.

"Nah, nothing much." Ichigo played it off badly. "Toushiro's just a bit upset about something I'm not sure about."

At that point, Renji finally let out a snort of disdain.

"What?" Ichigo turned to him challengingly.

"I can't believe you still don't know." The redhead answered, a grin playing on his lips. "After all this time… you really are a knobhead, Ichigo."

"What are you talking about?!" Ichigo snapped. "Have you guys been hiding something from me?"

"At the rate you're going, I don't think we even needed to try." Yumichika said.

"Okay, stop right there. What is going on here?" Ichigo stood up, facing the Shinigami. "What has this got to do about Toushiro?"

"Oh, you'll find out when you get back home later." Ikakku said mischievously.

"No, tell me NOW." Ichigo insisted. "And you'd better tell the truth or else…"

They all let out a sigh.

"Hitsugaya taichou…" Renji began. "Is madly in love with you."

"That's what we believe." Yumichika interrupted. "We've been spying on him for the past two days, and he's been doing very weird things, although beautiful."

"What do you mean weird things?" he disregarded the 'beautiful'.

"Like for example, when he thinks no one's around, he grabs for your pillow and buries his face in it." Ikakku said with a chuckle. "And when he hears you coming up the stairs when you've come back from wherever, he quickly does his hair, although how he does it without a mirror defeats me."

"Wait, YOU'VE BEEN SPYING ON MY HOME?!"Ichigo yelled, irate. Thankfully he was in his Shinigami form, so he didn't attract any attention from the oblivious class. "How long have you been doing this? You've only arrived less than a day ago!"

"As soon as we 'left' your house." Renji replied slyly. "We took shifts to patrol. And shifts to watch you guys."

"I think it's beautiful, the way that Hitsugaya taichou asks for massages from you." Yumichika said, admiringly. "And the way he tries to hide his face when he blushes is simply adorable. I've never seen him like that before."

"Don't worry, though. We'll keep the secret safe from the rest of Soul Society." Ikakku said. "I'm quite sure Yamamoto taichou wouldn't want to hear how Hitsugaya taichou spent his time in the real world in that much detail."

"Why you…"

"Don't worry; I'm sure he'll be alright once you get back." Renji said. "If Matsumoto doesn't burst the bubble before you."

"Wait one moment! Who said I was in love with Toushiro?!"

"Oh come on, it's obvious." The redhead replied. "Don't play dumb with us, we weren't born yesterday. I've seen the way you look at him. How you rush to his aid when he needs it."

"I…"

"No matter what you say, you've lost the argument." Yumichika said; a slight grin on his face. "Just finish school and go home."

"…"

He sat at his desk and rode the rest of the day away, confused. When the time came to go back, he jumped out of his desk without a word to the rest of his Shinigami friends and hurried home.

Jeez, I wonder what Rangiku-san has told him, he wondered as he jogged through the Karakura streets. Knowing her, it wouldn't be too long before he'd squeeze the truth out of her jabbering mouth. He opened the door to his house tentatively, and was greeted with a cacophony of screams and yells, with both Matsumoto's and Hitsugaya's voices echoing down the stairs.

Wow, this must be serious, he thought, as he made his way upstairs. At least they'd been smart enough to get out of their gigais so that Yuzu wouldn't hear. He pushed open his room door and peeked in. It was not a pretty sight.

"Who told you to get involved in this?!" Hitsugaya shouted, very angrily. "I am your _captain_, and I do not expect to be questioned like this!"

"Well, if you must know, I received a hell butterfly from Kurosaki Ichigo this morning, and he told me everything that was going on." She said back sternly. "I am responsible for keeping your image as a captain as one that is clean and dignified, and this is what I find out when I come down to the real world."

"That's enough! I want you to go back to Soul Society and stay there until I give you more orders!"

"There's no way in hell that I'd…"

At that point Ichigo thought he'd better step in before things got worse.

"Am I interrupting anyone?" he said, as he pushed the door open, strolling casually into the room. Hitsugaya shot daggers at him.

"YOU!" he pointed. "Get out! Now!"

"Hey, it's my room." He said, as he slumped on the armchair that the boy used so much.

"Kurosaki…" the boy said warningly, face full of contempt.

"Rangiku-san, I think it's alright if you leave us alone now." Ichigo said to Matsumoto politely. "Thanks for all your help."

Matsumoto retreated out of the room, winking at him. Oh god, he thought. Did she know as well?

"Right." He said, facing the diminutive captain.

"Don't ask." Hitsugaya spat, scowling at him.

"Don't need to. I know everything that's going on."

"Fine."

"Alright then."

"Hmph."

They sat for a moment, glaring at each other, until Ichigo decided to break the ice.

"Listen." He said, trying to placate the captain. "I don't know what came over you, and I don't care. Just try not to make your stay and recovery any harder than it is."

"It's all very well to say that, Kurosaki, but what do you know?" Hitsugaya said, staring at the ground. "Your problems are insignificant compared to mine."

He covered his face with his hands, as he leant back against the headboard. Ichigo smiled.

"Remember what I told you this morning?" he asked. "I said we were going to town, so let's go."

"Kurosaki, I don't know whether you can tell, but I'm hardly in the mood…"

"Oh, don't be such a spoilt brat." He was picked up and placed on Ichigo's shoulders, where he fought tooth and nail to get down from.

"Kurosaki! This is uncalled for! I am a captain of the 13 protective squads!"

"If you keep struggling you're going to crack your head on the floor. Then no one will be the wiser." Ichigo said, holding onto his feet.

"I disapprove." He replied. "Everyone's going to look at me and think I'm your little brother or something. A kid."

"Like I said earlier, what do you really expect them to think?" Ichigo grinned. "That you're actually a super child prodigy that can summon an icy dragon the size of an airplane? Get real!"

"Shut up." The teen laughed. He helped Hitsugaya into his gigai, and once again lifted him up onto his shoulders.

"You ready to go?"

"Hang on, I'd better get a shirt…"

"Here." Ichigo picked up one of the folded black polo shirts and handed it to him. "Pull that over your head and we'll be off."

He obliged, and Ichigo gently carried him down the stairs. He grabbed the teen's hair to stabilize himself as he shifted on his perch.

"Kurosaki, what are we going to do in town?"

"I don't know, really." The teen replied. "Just relax I suppose."

"Hmph. This is going to be a waste of time."

"Well, I wouldn't expect anything more than that." Ichigo said. "The reason people 'waste' time together is to enjoy each other's company."

"I wouldn't know." The boy said. "I'm usually stuck in the office doing paperwork all day long. It's rare that I get to go out."

"Which is more the reason why I'm taking you out to the town centre. You can't just stay cooped up in the house for the next three weeks."

"… Fine."

Ichigo trudged on in silence as Hitsugaya absent mindedly tugged at his hair. They were about halfway there.

"So… you wanna tell me what happened this morning?"

"It's just…" Hitsugaya struggled to explain. "I was just… I woke up and… I… had… a bad dream…"

It was lame, but at least he didn't have to admit his reasons.

"You had a bad dream." Ichigo echoed with incredulity. How long was this going to go on? "I see."

He let the matter drop. If Hitsugaya wanted to say something, he was going to take time, and Ichigo was sometimes an unusually patient person. When he wanted to be.

They finally arrived in the shopping centre, and Ichigo took Hitsugaya on a tour through the huge courtyard of the place. The teen bought the boy a coke, and the captain enjoyed it, the flavor and the coolness of the ice cold drink going down his throat.

"Kurosaki, I'm getting a little chilly."

The sun had started to set, and already people were pulling out scarves or pulling on jackets. As they passed by a shop, a midnight blue scarf caught Ichigo's attention. He doubled back and strolled into the store, Hitsugaya having to bow his head in order not to be knocked down by the shop's low sign.

"Kurosaki, what was that for?"

"Oh, nothing." Ichigo bent down and picked the scarf up, admiring the texture of it. It was a plain scarf, nothing special, no lines or anything sewed onto it. But it had a superior quality compared to the rest of the scarves Ichigo had seen in the shop. Nice and thick.

"How much is this?" he asked the cashier.

"2000 yen."

"Whoa, for that? Fine, I'll take it." He handed the cashier the money. "It looks like it's made well anyway."

"Would you like me to bag it for you?"

"No need for that, thanks." The teen replied. "Just hand it to this young gentleman on my shoulders."

"Kurosaki… you don't have to."

"You're cold, aren't you? I figured I'd get you a gift myself, since Matsumoto already got you one." He meant the schoolbag, of course.

Hitsugaya scowled as he remembered that hideous thing that Matsumoto had purchased him. He wrapped the scarf around his neck, tucking it into his shirt. Ichigo had bought that for him. For him! He tried not to throw his arms around Ichigo and hug him tightly; the thought itself made him blush, and he buried his face in the length of cloth.

"Kurosaki… thanks." He said it softly, wondering why in the world he was ashamed of thanking someone.

"It's no problem." The teen shrugged it off. He walked quite briskly now, and Hitsugaya wondered where Ichigo would take him.

He decided to keep quiet and wait it out. After fifteen minutes, he started to recognize the surroundings. This was the place beside the road that he liked to visit whenever he had free time, to watch the sun set. Ichigo set him down gently on the grass and allowed him to lean back against his larger frame.

"It's a little late, but…" The orange-head began.

"It's perfect."

Together they sat, and watched the sun, with its brilliant golden rays, sink into the horizon slowly. At length, Hitsugaya turned to Ichigo.

"I… don't know how to say this, but… every time I'm with you, I feel… happier." He struggled to find the words. "I want… what I did this morning was… it's just…"

"Toushiro, you don't have to explain anything to me." Ichigo said. "I'm sure whatever you did was well within your powers of logic, and I'm alright with that."

"But _I'm_ not!" the captain burst out. "The reason I was so nasty this morning was because I wanted to hate you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo played dumb.

"I… I'll eventually go back to Soul Society, when this fiasco is over, but you live here. That means I can't… if we ever…"

Ichigo interrupted the captain's words with a gently kiss on the boy's crimson soft lips. Hitsugaya stared at him in shock, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. Then, with a ferocity Ichigo had never seen before, the boy attacked his face with hot, passionate kisses. It was as if the barrier on the flow of the boy's emotions had been broken by that single peck on the lips. Between the kisses, Hitsugaya mumbled, out of breath:

"I don't… I don't care what… they say. I want… I want… to… be… with you…"

Ichigo agreed.

"Me too."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah."

Hitsugaya assaulted him again, with much more force than before, panting and slurping against his face. Ichigo tried to accommodate.

Finally, Hitsugaya leaned back against him, exhausted, closing his eyes.

"I don't believe this." He sighed. "All this time, and I thought you'd say no, and think I was some sort of a freak."

Ichigo wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him closer, cuddling the little captain to himself. For someone with such an icy demeanor, Hitsugaya's body actually felt quite warm in the evening chill.

"How could I think you, of all people, a freak?" Ichigo replied, stroking the captain's hair. "I've had a crush on you ever since you first came here."

"What, seriously?"

"Is that so hard to believe? Why do you think I keep accepting your requests for backrubs instead of shying away and calling you a weirdo?"

"Oh." He went red again. "It's getting dark; I think we should be heading home."

"Home?" Ichigo echoed.

"Yes, your home, idiot." Hitsugaya said, disdainfully, pushing himself away from Ichigo. "Now pick me up so we can get out of the cold."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Hitsugaya was sitting on the armchair, eating his way through the food Ichigo had brought him.

"Are you still going to sniff my pillows like some drug-addicted psychopath?" Ichigo asked, with a coy grin. Hitsugaya shot him a look of pure venom as he shoveled food into his mouth.

Ichigo laughed at the reaction, and gently rubbed the boy's bare back as he ate. At length, the little captain finished the food, and leant back into Ichigo's hands, sighing softly. The teen smiled, as he rubbed the boy's back, encountering a mole or a freckle every now and again. At length, he lifted the boy up and brought him back to the bed.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked. Hitsugaya shrugged his shoulders, not saying anything. He was being unusually quiet, Ichigo noticed. Perhaps he was still considering his options.

"Right, what about some more tennis?" he suggested, placing the television on the bed. Hitsugaya nodded, making himself comfortable in the sheets.

He felt the controllers thrust into his hand, and fastened them himself, not needing to be told by Ichigo how to do it. The console was booted up, and they began playing. They started off fairly evenly matched, Ichigo winning the first set by just one ball. Hitsugaya tensed with excitement as his player volleyed the ball pass Ichigo's player in the second set. He nudged the teen with his elbow to disrupt his play.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Ichigo exclaimed, shouldering him gently back. The boy glanced at him, and shoved him slightly more violently.

"Toshirou, don't make me make you sorry." Ichigo warned. The boy stared at him cheekily, and nudged him yet again, as if to challenge him.

Ichigo took the bait.

"Okay, that's it."

He lunged for the white haired boy, and literally tickled him half to death.

"K-K-Kurosakiii… s-stop! Ahahahahaha!" Hitsugaya finally gasped, as he bucked and squirmed. He tried in vain to push Ichigo's hands away, but only ended up giving up, and lying limp against the teen, choking resignedly with laughter. Ichigo stopped soon though, afraid that the captain would split his sides if he continued laughing.

"Kurosaki, you bastard…" he groaned, turning onto his stomach and resting his head on one of Ichigo's pillows.

Almost immediately he felt Ichigo's rough hands caressing his bare back, and sighed softly.

"I'll make those Espadas pay for what they did to you." Ichigo muttered, stroking the boy gently.

"As long as we can't figure out what they're planning to do, there really is no point." Hitsugaya replied perhaps a little too unctuously. "I prefer to wait and see what these idiots have up their sleeves."

"Is that so?"

"Mm."

"Anyway…" Ichigo pressed into the boy's shoulders, making him groan into the pillow. "… what are you going to do _while_ you wait?"

"Probably some paperwork while I'm at it."

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy." He prodded the captain's ribs, making him jump slightly. "Let's play some more tennis. And no cheating!"

"I wasn't cheating in the first place. It's you and those wretched fingers of yours poking me in places you're not supposed to."

"What?! You elbowed me in the first place!"

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"I am not in a position to argue with you, Kurosaki."

"Then let's continue playing, and no cheating." Ichigo replied. "And I have an idea."

"What?"

The teenager went and locked his room door as Hitsugaya stared in curiosity.

"Kurosaki, mind telling me what…"

Too late, Ichigo had pulled him onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around him. The boy squirmed uncomfortably.

"We shouldn't be doing this. Not here."

"Who's watching?"

"You never know. And this is inappropriate after all. I really shouldn't be…"

"Ah, shut it."

Ichigo squeezed the boy gently in his arms, drawing out a sigh from Hitsugaya.

"This is hardly the place…" he repeated, but leant back against Ichigo's chest anyway.

"What are you scared of anyway?" Ichigo ruffled his hair and the boy stiffened with disapproval. "Ghosts?"

"Well, yes." Came the reply. "Particularly ones that have a surname of Matsumoto and Abarai."

"Oh, don't worry about that. They already know."

Hitsugaya nearly jumped with shock, but realized that the action was probably not too good for his recovering body. He resorted to gripping Ichigo's hands tightly as he turned to face the teenager.

"What do you mean they already know?!" he gasped. "Were they spying on us? How do you know this?"

"Relax. They told me at school about what you did when I wasn't about." Ichigo replied. "How else did you think I knew that you were sniffing my pillows like some deranged maniac?"

"Shut up."

"Yeah, thought so." Ichigo said, pulling the boy closer to himself. "So be quiet and enjoy this while it lasts."

"Hmph."

"Here." He handed Hitsugaya his controller. They began playing.

It must have been a couple of hours before Ichigo noticed Hitsugaya yawning a lot more frequently as he sagged against Ichigo's chest.

"Right, it's off to bed for you then."

"I'm not a kid!"

"Never said you were, and if you behave like one, then obviously I'll treat you like one."

"One more game."

"Come on, it's nearly eleven o clock."

"… fine."

The boy tucked himself into the sheets as Ichigo went and turned off the fluorescent light in his room, leaving his bedside lamp on. As he approached the bed to see Hitsugaya to sleep, he noticed that the captain had left an opening in the blankets. He decided to play it dumb.

"Okay, it's nice to see that you're actually healing faster than expected." He stroked the boy's hair. "Try and get a good night's sleep, and if you don't want to wake up tomorrow it's alright."

He turned to go back to his futon, but Hitsugaya grasped hold of his arm.

"Kurosaki, would you… stay?"

"Okay…"

He turned off the lamp, and crawled into bed with the boy. A warm feeling enveloped his heart as the captain turned his back toward him and slowly spooned his small self against him. He kissed the boy on the back of his head as he stroked his bare shoulders.

"Mmmph…" Hitsugaya grabbed his hand, and pressed it against his chest. Ichigo's heart skipped a beat as he felt the soft skin of the captain's chest and the bulge of his breast.

He stroked it gently as Hitsugaya sighed with great content.

"You know, I never thought that today could end the way it did." He whispered. "We do have to keep this discrete, you know."

"I understand." Ichigo replied, nuzzling his face into Hitsugaya's white hair. "I can almost think of what the other captains would say if they found out. Hmm…"

"What?"

"What's going to happen once you recover from your injuries? Are you going to go back to Soul Society? What if you do? Where would we be then?"

The boy sighed.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Kurosaki." He used a human cliché; something he had picked up from school.

"I guess so."

He began sliding his hand up and down the boy's muscular torso, admiring the ridges of the boy's ribs as well as his firm abdomen, and Hitsugaya groaned, perhaps a little too loudly, at the contact.

"Hey, keep it down! Do you wanna get my sister in here or something?" he stopped the action, and Hitsugaya tensed.

"Mnghhh… Kurosakiii… don't stop…" he groaned in protest, squirming in his place. "Feels good."

"Since when have you become so whiney?" Ichigo teased the boy. "Before this it was all 'Kurosaki this Kurosaki that'. Now it's more of a 'Kurosakiiiii', with an added moan at the back."

"Shut up." The captain bristled. "I didn't invite you onto the bed to ridicule me."

"Ahem, it's _my _bed?"

"Kurosaki…" he said in a warning tone, as Ichigo laughed softly and started caressing his front again. The firmness of the boy's muscles along with his smooth skin nearly sent his brain into overdrive as he explored Hitsugaya's body.

His fingers found Hitsugaya's nipples, and he started pinching them lightly, drawing out a gasp of lust from the boy.

"Ooh, what do we have here?" he taunted the white haired captain. "Hitsugaya taichou's weakness?"

"Shut up… UNGH!" he cried out, as Ichigo pinched them again, slightly harder.

"They're really sensitive aren't they? Do you touch them?"

"Kurosaki, what ridiculous questions you're asking! I refuse to answer."

"Wrong answer." He pinched them again.

"ARGH! Kurosaki!!" the boy groaned, squirming.

"Okay, okay." The teen let up, and hugged the boy closer to himself. A sniff at the white hair confirmed that Hitsugaya had made use of his shampoo while he had left the boy in the bath yesterday.

"I'll bring you to Inoue's tomorrow." Ichigo whispered in his ear. "The least I can do is share you with my friends."

"Wait, we're eating out, right?" The captain asked in a panic. "I won't need to eat any of her food, will I?"

"Don't be so worried." Ichigo replied with a smile. "I'll be there to make sure she doesn't feed you weird food."

"That's a relief." The captain rolled his eyes. "Not."

"Just go to sleep, you little snowflake."

"Again! I thought I told you to stop giving me names?!"

"Shut it."

Ichigo rubbed Hitsugaya's abdomen gently, as the boy sighed with content. A couple of minutes, and small snores started to emanate from the diminutive captain. Ichigo smiled to himself, and pulled the boy even closer to himself. What was he thinking?! Was he a pedophile or something? Wait… that would be the other way round, since Hitsugaya was hundreds of years old anyway. But… he looked so much like a kid. Oh, whatever, the orange haired teen dismissed, as he embraced slumber as well. He'd sort it out tomorrow.


End file.
